Thermal conditioning of quail embryos has transgenerational and reversible long-term effects.

BACKGROUND: In the current context of global warming, thermal manipulation of avian embryos has received increasing attention as a strategy to promote heat tolerance in avian species by simply increasing the egg incubation temperature. However, because of their likely epigenetic origin, thermal manipulation effects may last more than one generation with consequences for the poultry industry. In this work, a multigenerational and transgenerational analysis of thermal manipulation during embryogenesis was performed to uncover the long-term effects of such procedure. RESULTS: Thermal manipulation repeated during 4 generations had an effect on hatchability, body weight, and weight of eggs laid in Japanese quails, with some effects increasing in importance over generations. Moreover, the effects on body weight and egg weight could be transmitted transgenerationally, suggesting non-genetic inheritance mechanisms. This hypothesis is reinforced by the observed reversion of the effect on growth after five unexposed generations. Interestingly, a beneficial effect of thermal manipulation on heat tolerance was observed a few days after hatching, but this effect was not transgenerational. CONCLUSIONS: Our multigenerational study showed that thermal conditioning of quail embryos has a beneficial effect on post-hatch heat tolerance hampered by transgenerational but reversible defects on growth. Assuming that no genetic variability underlies these changes, this study provides the first demonstration of epigenetic inheritance of traits induced by environmental temperature modification associated with long-term impacts in an avian species.

Slow and Fast-Growing Chickens Use Different Antioxidant Pathways to Maintain Their Redox Balance during Postnatal Growth.

The evolution of parameters known to be relevant indicators of energy status, oxidative stress, and antioxidant defense in chickens was followed. These parameters were measured weekly from 1 to 42 days in plasma and/or muscles and liver of two strains differing in growth rate. At 1-day old, in plasma, slow-growing (SG) chicks were characterized by a high total antioxidant status (TAS), probably related to higher superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and uric acid levels compared to fast-growing (FG) chicks whereas the lipid peroxidation levels were higher in the liver and muscles of SG day-old chicks. Irrespective of the genotype, the plasma glutathione reductase (GR) and peroxidase (GPx) activities and levels of hydroperoxides and α- and γ-tocopherols decreased rapidly post-hatch. In the muscles, lipid peroxidation also decreased rapidly after hatching as well as catalase, GR, and GPx activities, while the SOD activity increased. In the liver, the TAS was relatively stable the first week after hatching while the value of thio-barbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and GR activity increased and GPx and catalase activities decreased. Our study revealed the strain specificities regarding the antioxidant systems used to maintain their redox balance over the life course. Nevertheless, the age had a much higher impact than strain on the antioxidant ability of the chickens.

Early Growth and Protein-Energy Metabolism in Chicken Lines Divergently Selected on Ultimate pH.

In chickens, a divergent selection on the Pectoralis major pHu allowed the creation of the pHu+ and pHu- lines, which represent a unique model for studying the biological control of carbohydrate storage in muscle. The present study aimed to describe the early mechanisms involved in the establishment of pHu+ and pHu- phenotypes. At hatching, pHu+ chicks were slightly heavier but exhibited lower plasma glucose and triglyceride and higher uric acid. After 5 days, pHu+ chicks exhibited higher breast meat yield compared to pHu- while their body weight was no different. At both ages, in vivo muscle glycogen content was lower in pHu+ than in pHu- muscles. The lower ability of pHu+ chicks to store carbohydrate in their muscle was associated with the increased expression of SLC2A1 and SLC2A3 genes coding glucose transporters 1 and 3, and of CS and LDHα coding key enzymes of oxidative and glycolytic pathways, respectively. Reduced muscle glycogen content at hatching of the pHu+ was concomitant with higher activation by phosphorylation of S6 kinase 1/ribosomal protein S6 pathway, known to activate protein synthesis in chicken muscle. In conclusion, differences observed in muscle at slaughter age in the pHu+ and pHu- lines are already present at hatching. They are associated with several changes related to both carbohydrate and protein metabolism, which are likely to affect their ability to use eggs or exogenous nutrients for muscle growth or energy storage.

Embryonic thermal manipulation has short and long-term effects on the development and the physiology of the Japanese quail.

In vertebrates, the embryonic environment is known to affect the development and the health of individuals. In broiler chickens, the thermal-manipulation (TM) of eggs during the incubation period was shown to improve heat tolerance at slaughter age (35 days of age) in association with several modifications at the molecular, metabolic and physiological levels. However, little is known about the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), a closely related avian species widely used as a laboratory animal model and farmed for its meat and eggs. Here we developed and characterized a TM procedure (39.5°C and 65% relative humidity, 12 h/d, from days 0 to 13 of incubation) in quails by analyzing its short and long-term effects on zootechnical, physiological and metabolic parameters. Heat-tolerance was tested by a heat challenge (36°C for 7h) at 35 days of age. TM significantly reduced the hatching rate of the animals and increased mortality during the first four weeks of life. At hatching, TM animals were heavier than controls, but lighter at 25 days of age for both sexes. Thirty-five days after hatching, TM decreased the surface temperature of the shank in females, suggesting a modulation of the blood flow to maintain the internal temperature. TM also increased blood partial pressure and oxygen saturation percentage at 35 days of age in females, suggesting a long-term modulation of the respiration physiology. Quails physiologically responded to the heat challenge, with a modification of several hematologic and metabolic parameters, including an increase in plasma corticosterone concentration. Several physiological parameters such as beak surface temperature and blood sodium concentration revealed that TM birds responded differently to the heat challenge compared to controls. Altogether, this first comprehensive characterization of TM in Japanese quail showed durable effects that may affect the response of TM quails to heat.

Thermal Manipulation During Embryogenesis Impacts H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 Histone Marks in Chicken Hypothalamus.

Changes in gene activity through epigenetic alterations induced by early environmental challenges during embryogenesis are known to impact the phenotype, health, and disease risk of animals. Learning how environmental cues translate into persisting epigenetic memory may open new doors to improve robustness and resilience of developing animals. It has previously been shown that the heat tolerance of male broiler chickens was improved by cyclically elevating egg incubation temperature. The embryonic thermal manipulation enhanced gene expression response in muscle (P. major) when animals were heat challenged at slaughter age, 35 days post-hatch. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unknown. Here, we investigated the genome-wide distribution, in hypothalamus and muscle tissues, of two histone post-translational modifications, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3, known to contribute to environmental memory in eukaryotes. We found 785 H3K4me3 and 148 H3K27me3 differential peaks in the hypothalamus, encompassing genes involved in neurodevelopmental, metabolic, and gene regulation functions. Interestingly, few differences were identified in the muscle tissue for which differential gene expression was previously described. These results demonstrate that the response to embryonic thermal manipulation (TM) in chicken is mediated, at least in part, by epigenetic changes in the hypothalamus that may contribute to the later-life thermal acclimation.

Differential expression and co-expression gene network analyses reveal molecular mechanisms and candidate biomarkers involved in breast muscle myopathies in chicken.

The broiler industry is facing an increasing prevalence of breast myopathies, such as white striping (WS) and wooden breast (WB), and the precise aetiology of these occurrences remains poorly understood. To progress our understanding of the structural changes and molecular pathways involved in these myopathies, a transcriptomic analysis was performed using an 8 × 60 K Agilent chicken microarray and histological study. The study used pectoralis major muscles from three groups: slow-growing animals (n = 8), fast-growing animals visually free from defects (n = 8), or severely affected by both WS and WB (n = 8). In addition, a weighted correlation network analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between modules of co-expressed genes and histological traits. Functional analysis suggested that selection for fast growing and breast meat yield has progressively led to conditions favouring metabolic shifts towards alternative catabolic pathways to produce energy, leading to an adaptive response to oxidative stress and the first signs of inflammatory, regeneration and fibrosis processes. All these processes are intensified in muscles affected by severe myopathies, in which new mechanisms related to cellular defences and remodelling seem also activated. Furthermore, our study opens new perspectives for myopathy diagnosis by highlighting fine histological phenotypes and genes whose expression was strongly correlated with defects.

Is Meat of Breeder Turkeys so Different from That of Standard Turkeys?

The technological, nutritional, and sensorial quality of breasts and thighs with drumsticks of turkey male and female breeders was characterized by comparison with breasts and thighs with drumsticks of growing male and female turkeys from the Grademaker line (hybrid turkeys, n = 20 birds per sex and per physiological stage). The breeder turkeys were slaughtered at 397 and 410 days of age and 10.42 and 32.67 kg of body weight for the females and males, respectively. The standard turkeys were slaughtered at 75 and 103 days of age and 5.89 and 13.48 kg of body weight for the females and males, respectively. The differences observed between males and females on one hand and between standard and breeder turkeys on the other hand were mainly induced by differences in slaughter ages and sexual dimorphism on body weight. The meat of female breeders had characteristics close to those of female and male standard turkeys, whereas the meat of male breeders was clearly distinguishable, particularly by displaying lower tenderness and water holding capacity.

Expression of glucose transporters SLC2A1, SLC2A8, and SLC2A12 in different chicken muscles during ontogenesis.

Glucose transport into cells is the first limiting step for the regulation of glucose homeostasis. In mammals, it is mediated by a family of facilitative glucose transporters (GLUTs) (encoded by SLC2A* genes), with a constitutive role (GLUT1), or insulin-sensitive transporters (GLUT4, GLUT8, and GLUT12). Compared to mammals, the chicken shows high levels of glycemia and relative insensitivity to exogenous insulin. To date, only GLUT1, GLUT8, and GLUT12 have been described in chicken skeletal muscles but not fully characterized, whereas GLUT4 was reported as lacking. The aim of the present study was to determine the changes in the expression of the SLC2A1, SLC2A8, and SLC2A12 genes, encoding GLUT1, GLUT8, and GLUT12 proteins respectively, during ontogenesis and how the respective expression of these three genes is affected by the muscle type and the nutritional or insulin status of the bird (fed, fasted, or insulin immunoneutralized). SLC2A1 was mostly expressed in the glycolytic pectoralis major (PM) muscle during embryogenesis and 5 d posthatching while SLC2A8 was mainly expressed at hatching. SLC2A12 expression increased regularly from 12 d in ovo up to 5 d posthatching. In the mixed-type sartorius muscle, the expression of SLC2A1 and SLC2A8 remained unchanged, whereas that of SLC2A12 was gradually increased during early muscle development. The expression of SLC2A1 and SLC2A8 was greater in oxidative and oxidoglycolytic muscles than in glycolytic muscles. The expression of SLC2A12 differed considerably between muscles but not necessarily in relation to muscle contractile or metabolic type. The expression of SLC2A1, SLC2A8, and SLC2A12 was reduced by fasting and insulin immunoneutralization in the PM muscle, while in the leg muscles only SLC2A12 was impaired by insulin immunoneutralization. Our findings clearly indicate differential regulation of the expression of three major GLUTs in skeletal muscles, with some type-related features. They provide new insights to improve the understanding of the fine regulation of glucose utilization in chicken muscles.

An Assessment of Fixed and Native Chromatin Preparation Methods to Study Histone Post-Translational Modifications at a Whole Genome Scale in Skeletal Muscle Tissue.

BACKGROUND: Genomic loci associated with histone marks are typically analyzed by immunoprecipitation of the chromatin followed by quantitative-PCR (ChIP-qPCR) or high throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq). Chromatin can be either cross-linked (X-ChIP) or used in the native state (N-ChIP). Cross-linking of DNA and proteins helps stabilizing their interactions before analysis. Despite X-ChIP is the most commonly used method, muscle tissue fixation is known to be relatively inefficient. Moreover, no protocol described a simple and reliable preparation of skeletal muscle chromatin of sufficient quality for subsequent high-throughput sequencing. Here we aimed to set-up and compare both chromatin preparation methods for a genome-wide analysis of H3K27me3, a broad-peak histone mark, using chicken P. major muscle tissue. RESULTS: Fixed and unfixed chromatin were prepared from chicken muscle tissues (Pectoralis major). Chromatin fixation, shearing by sonication or digestion and immunoprecipitation performed equivalently. High-quality Illumina reads were obtained (q30 > 93%). The bioinformatic analysis of the data was performed using epic, a tool based on SICER, and MACS2. Forty millions of reads were analyzed for both X-ChIP-seq and N-ChIP-seq experiments. Surprisingly, H3K27me3 X-ChIP-seq analysis led to the identification of only 2000 enriched regions compared to about 15,000 regions identified in the case of N-ChIP-seq. N-ChIP-seq peaks were more consistent between replicates compared to X-ChIP-seq. Higher N-ChIP-seq enrichments were confirmed by ChIP-qPCR at the PAX5 and SOX2 loci known to be enriched for H3K27me3 in myotubes and at the loci of common regions of enrichment identified in this study. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the preparation of muscle chromatin for ChIP-seq in cross-linked conditions can compromise the systematic analysis of broad histone marks. Therefore, native chromatin preparation should be preferred to cross-linking when a ChIP experiment has to be performed on skeletal muscle tissue, particularly when a broad source signal is considered.

Morphology and fibre-type distribution in the tongue of the Pogona vitticeps lizard (Iguania, Agamidae).

Agamid lizards use tongue prehension for capturing all types of prey. The purpose of this study was to investigate the functional relationship between tongue structure, both surface and musculature, and function during prey capture in Pogona vitticeps. The lack of a detailed description of the distribution of fibre-types in the tongue muscles in some iguanian lizards has hindered the understanding of the functional morphology of the lizard tongue. Three methodological approaches were used to fill this gap. First, morphological analyses were performed (i) on the tongue surface through scanning electron microscopy, and (ii) on the lingual muscle by histological coloration and histochemistry to identify fibre-typing. Secondly, kinematics of prey capture was quantified by using high-speed video recordings to determine the movement capabilities of the tongue. Finally, electromyography (EMG) was used to identify the motor pattern tongue muscles during prey capture. Morphological and functional data were combined to discuss the functional morphology of the tongue in agamid lizards, in relation to their diet. During tongue protraction, M. genioglossus contracts 420 ± 96 ms before tongue-prey contact. Subsequently, Mm. verticalis and hyoglossus contract throughout tongue protraction and retraction. Significant differences are found between the timing of activity of the protractor muscles between omnivorous agamids (Pogona sp., this study) and insectivorous species (Agama sp.), despite similar tongue and jaw kinematics. The data confirm that specialisation toward a diet which includes more vegetal materials is associated with significant changes in tongue morphology and function. Histoenzymology demonstrates that protractor and retractor muscles differ in fibre composition. The proportion of fast glycolytic fibres is significantly higher in the M. hyoglossus (retractor muscle) than in the M. genioglossus (protractor muscle), and this difference is proposed to be associated with differences in the velocity of tongue protrusion and retraction (5 ± 5 and 40 ± 13 cm s(-1) , respectively), similar to Chamaeleonidae. This study provides a way to compare fibre-types and composition in all iguanian and scleroglossan lizards that use tongue prehension to catch prey.