Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 22, 2025

Assessing Species-specific Contributions To Craniofacial Development Using Quail-duck Chimeras
Published on: May 31, 2014
Effects of genetic selection and threonine on meat quality in Pekin ducks
Yong Jiang1, Ming Xie2, Jing Tang2
1Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Molecular Design of Jiangsu Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
Abstract:
The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of genetic selection and threonine levels on meat quality in Pekin ducks. At 15 D of age, 192 lean ducks and 192 fatty ducks were selected and allotted to one of three treatments with 8 replicates with similar BW (8 ducks/cage), respectively. All ducks were fed the experimental diets (0.00, 0.15, and 0.30% added threonine) for 21 D from 15 to 35 D of age. The results showed that fatty ducks had higher (P < 0.001) feed intake, feed/gain ratio, abdominal fat percentage, and sebum percentage and lower (P = 0.001) breast muscle percentage compared with that of lean ducks. The fatty-type and lean-type ducks had similar weight gain and BW. Dietary threonine supplementation improved (P < 0.05) growth performance and increased breast muscle percentage in lean-type ducks, but it did not affect (P > 0.05) those indices in fatty-type ducks. Lean ducks had higher (P < 0.001) hepatic contents of total lipids, triglyceride, cholesterol, and plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration, and dietary threonine supplementation decreased (P < 0.05) hepatic total lipid, cholesterol, and triglyceride contents in lean ducks, but it had no influence on hepatic lipids in fatty ducks (P > 0.05). Lean ducks had higher (P < 0.05) concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), and C18-polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in the liver, PUFA in the breast muscle, and C18:3n6 and C18:3n3 in plasma and lower C20-PUFA and C22-PUFA in the liver and MUFA in plasma, compared with fatty ducks. Threonine supplementation increased PUFA, N3-PUFA, and n6-PUFA in plasma and hepatic fatty acids profiles in lean ducks (P > 0.05) but had on influence on total MUFA and total PUFA in the liver, breast muscle, and plasma in fatty ducks (P > 0.05). In conclusion, genetic selection toward meat production and threonine supplementation increases meat production and PUFA contents, which would influence eating quality, but it is benefit for human health.
More Related Videos
06:38In Ovo Feeding of Commercial Broiler Eggs: An Accurate and Reproducible Method to Affect Muscle Development and Growth
Published on: September 20, 2021
07:46Author Spotlight: Improving Beef Cattle Nutrition and Production with a Focus on Feed Efficiency and Meat Quality Traits Through Advanced Biochemical and Molecular Assays
Published on: July 12, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Background and Environment Affect Phenotype
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
Epistasis
Complementation Tests
Organisms heterozygous for different mutations are crossed pairwise in all combinations. If present on different genes, the mutations can complement each other by providing the missing...
Types of Selection
Incomplete Dominance
Limits to Natural Selection