Effects of Graded Dietary L-arginine Supply on Organ Growth in Four Genetically Diverse Layer Lines during Rearing Period

Abstract

Little information has been available about the influence of genetic background and dietary L-arginine (Arg) supply on organ growth of chickens. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of a graded ad libitum Arg supply providing 70, 100 and 200% of recommended Arg concentration on organ growth of female chickens from hatch to 18 weeks of age. The chickens derived from four layer lines of different phylogeny (white vs. brown) and laying performance (high vs. low). Based on residual feed and absolute body and organ weights recorded in six-weekintervals, feed consumption, changes of relative organ weights and allometric organ growth were compared between experimental groups.Surplus Arg caused higher feed intake than insufficient Arg (p＜0.01) that induced growth depression in turn (p ＜0.05). During the entire trial chicken's heart, gizzard and liver decreased relatively to their body growth (p＜0.001) and showed strong positive correlations among each other. On the contrary, proportions of pancreas and lymphoid organs increased until week 12 (p＜0.001) and correlated positively among each other. Due to their opposite growth behaviour (p＜0.001), internal organs were assigned to two separate groups. Furthermore, insufficient Arg induced larger proportions of bursa, gizzard and liver compared with a higher Arg supply (p＜0.05). In contrast to less Arg containing diets, surplus Arg decreased relative spleen weights (p＜0.01). The overall allometric evaluation of data indicated a precocious development of heart, liver, gizzard, pancreas and bursa independent of chicken's genetic and nutritional background. However, insufficient Arg retarded the maturation of spleen and thymus compared with an adequate Arg supply.In conclusion, the present results emphasised the essential function of Arg in layer performance, and indicated different sensitivities of internal organs rather to chicken's dietary Arg supply than to their genetic background.

Effects of arginine on the growth performance, hormones, digestive organ development and intestinal morphology in the early growth stage of layer chickens

“…The growth and development of digestive organs directly affect the digestive and absorptive capacity of nutrients, and the weight and size of the digestive organs can be an indicator of physiological function. Although organ growth was equally directed within each organ group, the sensitivity to dietary arginine differed among organ groups as well as within them (Lieboldt et al 2015). Individual organ sensitivities might be mediated through the organ-specific expression of arginine uptake transporters, the cationic amino acid transporters (CAT) (Humphrey et al 2004;Humphrey and Klasing 2005).…”

Amino acid requirements for laying hens: a comprehensive review

“…Arginine is one of the critical essential amino acids for poultry because, unlike mammals, they cannot synthesise arginine ( Birmani et al., 2019 ); however, arginine has received little consideration in layer hens. Arginine is required to enhance the performance and immunity in layers as it serves as a precursor of protein, creatine, proline, polyamines, and nitric oxide ( Lieboldt et al., 2015 ).…”

“…Increasing dietary arginine has improved feed intakes, but it has negative effects at levels of more than 12.7 g/kg ( Yuan et al., 2015 ) although arginine can act as appetite-stimulating factor in layer hens ( Lieboldt et al., 2015 ). In addition, arginine can stimulate the secretion of luteinizing hormone and positively impact follicle development and ovulations ( Youssef et al., 2015 ; Yuan et al., 2015 ).…”

Estimation of Protein and Amino Acid Requirements in Layer Chicks Depending on Dynamic Model

“…Lelis et al suggested that increasing the digestible Valine in the diet can linearly enhance the feed intake of Jing Tint 6 chicks, justifying a moderate increase in Valine [ 48 ]. Arginine is a precursor to protein, creatine, Proline, polyamines, and nitric oxide, and it can help improve production performance and immunity in Jing Tint 6 chicks [ 49 ]; the model-predicted requirements for Arginine were slightly higher than the results from previous studies but remained within an acceptable range without causing adverse effects [ 50 ]. Isoleucine levels below 4.0 g/kg [ 51 ] and above 8.1 g/kg [ 52 ] were detrimental to Jing Tint 6 chicks’ feed intake, but the model predicted Isoleucine requirements to fall between these limits.…”