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Transcriptome Profiling of In-Vivo Produced Bovine Pre-implantation Embryos Using Two-color Microarray Platform
Published on: January 30, 2017
Prehatch intestinal maturation of turkey embryos demonstrated through gene expression patterns
J E de Oliveira1, S Druyan, Z Uni
1North Carolina State University, Department of Poultry Science, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Poultry Science
|November 12, 2009
Summary
Newborn turkeys face challenges like weakness and poor growth due to immature digestive systems. Gene expression analysis reveals poults gain the ability to digest disaccharides and absorb monosaccharides at hatch.
Area of Science:
- Poultry Science
- Developmental Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Neonatal turkeys often exhibit weakness, reduced feed intake, impaired growth, and increased susceptibility to disease and mortality.
- These challenges may stem from depleted energy reserves post-hatch and an immature digestive system's inability to efficiently utilize consumed feed for energy replenishment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the patterns of intestinal gene expression in turkey embryos during the critical period before hatch.
- To identify key genes and pathways involved in enteric development and functional maturation in preparation for post-hatch life.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a focused microarray to analyze gene expression patterns in the duodenums of 24 turkey embryos at embryonic days (E)20, E24, E26, and hatch (E28).
- Measured RNA populations of 96 selected genes, identifying 81 significantly changed genes (P < 0.01) and clustering them into 4 distinct expression patterns.
Main Results:
- Gene expression patterns of hormone receptors suggest reduced intestinal responsiveness to growth hormone, insulin, glucagon, and triiodothyronine in the final 48 hours before hatch.
- Significant changes in genes related to carbohydrate and peptide digestion/absorption were observed, indicating a shift from proliferation to functional maturation.
Conclusions:
- At hatch, turkey poults are predicted to possess the capacity to digest disaccharides (e.g., via sucrase-isomaltase) but not oligopeptides (due to decreased aminopeptidases).
- High expression of sodium-glucose cotransporter-4 and peptide transporter-1 indicates an enhanced ability to absorb monosaccharides and small peptides at hatch.
