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Transcriptome Analysis Identifies Signaling Pathways Related to Performance, Meat Quality, and Organ Development in
Siti Rani Ayuti1,2, Mirni Lamid3, Sunaryo Hadi Warsito3
1Doctoral Program of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Jl. Dr. Ir. H. Soekarno Kampus C Mulyorejo, Surabaya, 60115, East Java, Indonesia, unair.ac.id.
Supplementing Kampung Unggul Balitbangtan (KUB) chicken feed with multienzymes, including phytase and protease, significantly improves growth, feed efficiency, and meat quality. This nutritional strategy enhances carcass traits and modulates muscle gene expression for better chicken production.
Area of Science:
- Animal Nutrition and Feed Science
- Poultry Science
- Molecular Biology and Genetics
Background:
- Kampung Unggul Balitbangtan (KUB) chickens are a valuable Indonesian native breed with high potential.
- Optimizing nutrition through feed additives like multienzymes is crucial for enhancing poultry productivity and meat quality.
- Understanding the impact of specific enzyme combinations on growth, physiology, and gene expression is essential for targeted improvements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effects of dietary multienzyme supplementation (phytase and protease) on KUB chicken growth performance.
- To assess the impact of multienzymes on carcass characteristics, organ development, and meat quality.
- To investigate the modulation of muscle-related gene expression in response to multienzyme supplementation.
Main Methods:
- Four dietary treatments were administered to 16 male KUB chicks from day old to 45 days of age.
- Treatments included a control diet and diets with varying levels of phytase and protease supplementation.
- Evaluations involved growth performance, carcass analysis, organ weights, meat quality assessments, and transcriptomic/qPCR analyses of breast muscle.
Main Results:
- Multienzyme supplementation significantly improved final body weight and feed conversion ratio, especially in the finisher phase.
- Enhanced carcass percentage and breast weight were observed, alongside favorable digestive and immune organ development.
- Meat quality improved with increased water-holding capacity, reduced cooking loss, and enhanced color characteristics (redness, yellowness).
Conclusions:
- Dietary phytase and protease combination effectively boosts growth performance, feed efficiency, carcass traits, and meat quality in KUB chickens.
- Multienzyme supplementation modulates key muscle growth-related genes, suggesting enhanced nutrient utilization.
- This nutritional strategy offers a promising, cost-effective approach to improving native chicken production.

