Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Animal Sciences

Wooden Breast (WB) myopathy is present within the broiler industry worldwide. The WB affected muscles are palpably hard under severe oxidative stress and inflammation. Posthatch muscle growth is dependent on satellite cells and are sensitive to nutritional changes early posthatch. Thus, satellite cells are able to be modified by nutritional strategies early posthatch and thereby alter the muscle structure. The overall objective of this study was to reduce the incidence of WB myopathy through early posthatch nutritional interventions including vitamin E (VE) and alpha lipoic acid (ALA) with antioxidant properties, and omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids with anti-inflammatory effect. The first three aims determined the effects of VE (200 IU/kg) and n-3 fatty acids (n-6/n-3 ratio of 3.2:1) independently or in combination when fed during the starter phase (0 to 10 day) or grower phase (11 to 24 day) on WB severity, growth performance, meat quality, morphological structure of the pectoralis major (p. major) muscle and small intestine, and expression of genes likely associated with WB in p. major muscle and small intestine. It was found that VE supplementation during the starter phase or grower phase reduced the severity of WB myopathy both by palpation and by microscopic without sacrificing growth performance and meat yield in broilers at market age (58 days of age). In contrast, n-3 fatty acids supplementation in starter diets decreased final body weight and meat yield. Genes associated with muscle development and glucose metabolism were differentially expressed in the p. major muscle of the broilers supplemented with VE in the grower diet, indicating reduced muscle degeneration and lipid deposition. Genes involved in gut nutrient transport, oxidative stress, and inflammation were differentially expressed in small intestine of the broilers supplemented with VE during the grower phase, indicating improved nutrient transport and reduced oxidative stress and inflammation. These (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Sandra Velleman (Advisor); Sheila Jacobi (Committee Member); Lyda Garcia (Committee Member); Lynn Knipe (Committee Member); Daniel Clark (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Sciences

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2014, Animal Sciences

Ohio has a 158 million dollar turkey industry. Gut growth and development occurs first before the turkey can realize its full muscle producing potential. Alternative and adjunctive approaches to decreasing the use of feed grade antibiotics are becoming an important area of research due to increasing consumer and legislative concerns with antibiotic resistance. Probiotics or supplemental dietary commensal microbes is one such potential approach as they can colonize the intestine, particularly in young animals with a relatively naive intestine microbiome. Intestinal mucosa is made up of mucin glycoproteins that play a key role in preventing the attachment and colonization of pathogenic bacteria. These proteins are made up of a protein backbone that is coded for by the MUC gene family. At hatch, the turkey intestine is relatively aseptic and therefore vulnerable to bacterial colonization from both commensal and pathogenic microbes. In this study, we determined the expression of MUC2, which codes for a secretory gel-forming mucin that is predominantly found in the small and large intestine, from immediately post-hatch through day 11 of age in poults fed a conventional starter diet, the starter diet supplemented with two commercial probiotics (A and B), or the starter diet supplemented with a commercial prebiotic. This was done by comparing the MUC2 transcription levels to the transcription level of a housekeeping gene. Multiple potential housekeeping genes were investigated and one, RPS13, was found to be stably expressed across all ages and treatments in the turkey poult. The effects of the supplemented diets on intestinal development were also analyzed. While MUC2 transcription increased with age, there were no significant effects due to diet. The intestinal parameters of villus height, area and crypt depth were all increased with supplementation of probiotic B and the prebiotic.

Committee: Michael Lilburn (Advisor); Macdonald Wick (Committee Member); Joseph Ottobre (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Sciences