RESUMO
AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of feeding rice based distillers dried grains with solubles (rDDGS) and gluten meal on nutrient transporter genes and immunity in broiler chickens. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 2×3 factorial design resulted in six experimental diets, namely T1 (no rDDGS/rice gluten meal [RGM]/enzyme), T2 (no rDDGS/RGM, with multienzymes), T3 (12.5% rDDGS, 15% RGM, no enzyme), T4 (12.5% rDDGS, 15% RGM, with protease enzyme), T5 (10% rDDGS, 12.5% RGM, no enzyme), and T6 (10% rDDGS, 12.5% RGM, with protease enzyme). Each treatment was allocated five replicates of chicks, with eight birds in each. Nutrient transporter genes such as Mucin (MUC 2), excitatory amino acid transporter 3 (EAAT3), and peptide transporter (PepT1) and immunity were estimated using standard procedures. RESULTS: Feeding rDDGS and RGM combination improved humoral immunity, while cell-mediated immunity did not show any significant (p>0.05) effect on broiler chickens. MUC and PepT1 genes showed significantly (p<0.01) decreased relative fold expression in 12.5% rDDGS +15% RGM combination, while EAAT3 gene showed significantly (p<0.01) decreased relative fold expression in both rDDGS and RGM combination levels. CONCLUSION: Thus, it may be concluded that feeding rDDGS and RGM combination improved humoral immunity but had an adverse effect on nutrient transporter gene in broiler chickens.
