Effects of in ovo injection of carbohydrate solution on small intestine development in domestic pigeons (Columba livia)1

Abstract

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that in ovo injection of carbohydrates into pigeon (Columba livia) amnion may improve the small intestine development. At d 14.5 of incubation, 80 fertile eggs were injected with 200 μL of carbohydrate solution, and 80 control eggs were not injected. The carbohydrate solution (wt/vol) contained 2.5% maltose + 2.5% sucrose, all dissolved in 0.75% saline. Twelve eggs from each treatment were randomly sampled at d 16 of incubation and the day of hatch, embryos or young pigeons were euthanized, and the jejunum samples were collected. Jejunal villus surface area, activity of the brush border enzymes, sucrase, maltase, aminopeptidase-N, and alkaline phosphatase, and mRNA expression of the digestion-absorption related genes oligopeptide transporter 1, sodium glucose transporter 1, glucose transporter 2, aminopeptidase-N, and sucrase-isomaltase were examined. Results showed that in ovo injection of carbohydrate solution caused a villus surface area increase of 38% on d 16 of incubation and 23% on day of hatch relative to controls (P < 0.05). The in ovo injected pigeons exhibited greater (P < 0.05) activities of jejunal sucrase, maltase, and alkaline phosphatase from d 16 of incubation to day of hatch compared with the controls. At day of hatch, aminopeptidase-N activity in embryos injected in ovo was approximately 27% greater (P < 0.05) than control embryos. Enhanced expressions of the jejunal sodium glucose transporter 1, glucose transporter 2, and aminopeptidase-N mRNA were found at d 16 of incubation in embryos that received carbohydrate solution into the amniotic fluid in comparison with the control group (P < 0.05). These results indicate that the in ovo injected pigeon may hatch with more mature enterocytes and greater intestinal digestive and absorptive capacity than the conventional hatchling. Therefore, the in ovo injected pigeons may become more precocial at hatch and easier to hand-rear during the immediate posthatch period.

Effects of in ovo feeding of L‐arginine on the development of digestive organs, intestinal function and post‐hatch performance of broiler embryos and hatchlings

“…Our results showed that IOF of Arg had a 1.5‐fold increase in duodenal AKP activity than other groups, suggesting that IOF of Arg contributed to improving the gut health and digestive‐absorptive function of small intestine. In parallel with the studies described above, Dong, Wang, Song, and Zou () reported that IOF of carbohydrate solution exhibited significantly greater activities of sucrase, maltase and AKP in jejunum of pigeons from 16 days of incubation to hatching day than the control group.…”

In ovodelivery of various biological supplements, vaccines and drugs in poultry: current knowledge

“…If the embryo consumes all the energy sources in the first days of incubation, it will suffer from its deficiency in the last stages of incubation. Energy deficiency can result in a weak hatchling and even embryonic death . Therefore, a stable and sufficient energy status is necessary for the late‐term stage of chick embryos, which can be supplied by the in ovo injection of carbohydrates to the amnion of the late‐term avian embryo .…”

“…Energy deficiency can result in a weak hatchling and even embryonic death. 76 Therefore, a stable and sufficient energy status is necessary for the late-term stage of chick embryos, which can be supplied by the in ovo injection of carbohydrates to the amnion of the late-term avian embryo. 77,78 Many previous studies have confirmed that the energy status or BW of hatchlings had improved in response to the in ovo injection of carbohydrate solutions, including glucose, maltose, sucrose, or dextrin, singly or in combination with other nutrients.…”

In ovo L‐arginine supplementation stimulates myoblast differentiation but negatively affects muscle development of broiler chicken after hatching

“…In ovo feeding (IOF), the injection of exogenous nutrients into the amnion of developing embryos of oviparous species may serve as a tool to enhance subsequent pre‐hatching functioning and post‐hatching growth and/or to overcome a delay in post‐hatching enteric maturation (Kadam et al., ) due to impaired digestive capacity that is caused by early, post‐natal underfeeding or feed deprivation (Kornasio et al., ). Recent researches showed that in ovo administration of amino acids such as beta‐hydroxy‐beta‐methylbutyrate (leucine metabolite) (Kornasio et al., ), threonine (Kadam et al., ), and arginine (Tangara et al., ), or a mixture of amino acids (Uni et al., ) or carbohydrates (Dong et al., ) regulates body weight (Kadam et al., ; Dong et al., ), energy metabolism (Tangara et al., ), digestive function (Dong et al., ), and immunological responses (Kadam et al., ) during hatching or in later life. However, there is still little information about the impact of IOF of such substances on post‐hatching muscle growth.…”