Advances in Duck and Geese Production: Genetics, Nutrition and Breeding Perspectives

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Poultry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 1956

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Animal Nutrition Institute, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
Interests: duck; geese; meat quality; nutrient requirement and metabolism; feedstuff or feed additive; body health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Waterfowl, mainly including ducks and geese, are the third largest poultry population after broilers and laying hens, and can provide sustainable and affordable meat and eggs. There are many local breeds and different breeding modes for various types of waterfowl production for human populations. However, on the one hand, there is relatively less basic and applied research on ducks and geese when compared to broilers and laying hens. On the other hand, waterfowl have unique behavior, digestive, and metabolism physiology. Therefore, a tremendous amount of work needs to be carried out in duck and geese production in terms of genetics, nutrition, and breeding perspectives.

This Special Issue seeks to report on the recent original research findings and reviews related to ducks and geese on supporting low-cost and high-efficiency meat and egg production as well as their health and welfare through a greater understanding of genetics, nutrition, and management.

Prof. Dr. Qiufeng Zeng
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • duck
  • geese
  • genetics
  • nutrition
  • reproduction
  • management
  • welfare

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 4612 KiB  
Article
Tibial Damage Caused by T-2 Toxin in Goslings: Bone Dysplasia, Poor Bone Quality, Hindered Chondrocyte Differentiation, and Imbalanced Bone Metabolism
by Wang Gu, Lie Hou, Qiang Bao, Qi Xu and Guohong Chen
Animals 2024, 14(15), 2281; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14152281 - 5 Aug 2024
Viewed by 683
Abstract
T-2 toxin, the most toxic type A trichothecene, is widely present in grain and animal feed, causing growth retardation and tissue damage in poultry. Geese are more sensitive to T-2 toxin than chickens and ducks. Although T-2 toxin has been reported to cause [...] Read more.
T-2 toxin, the most toxic type A trichothecene, is widely present in grain and animal feed, causing growth retardation and tissue damage in poultry. Geese are more sensitive to T-2 toxin than chickens and ducks. Although T-2 toxin has been reported to cause tibial growth plate (TGP) chondrodysplasia in chickens, tibial damage caused by T-2 toxin in geese has not been fully demonstrated. This study aims to investigate the adverse effects of T-2 toxin on tibial bone development, bone quality, chondrocyte differentiation, and bone metabolism. Here, forty-eight one-day-old male Yangzhou goslings were randomly divided into four groups and daily gavaged with T-2 toxin at concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/kg body weight for 21 days, respectively. The development of gosling body weight and size was determined by weighing and taking body measurements after exposure to different concentrations of T-2 toxin. Changes in tibial development and bone characteristics were determined by radiographic examination, phenotypic measurements, and bone quality and composition analyses. Chondrocyte differentiation in TGP and bone metabolism was characterized by cell morphology, tissue gene-specific expression, and serum marker levels. Results showed that T-2 toxin treatment resulted in a lower weight, volume, length, middle width, and middle circumference of the tibia in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.05). Moreover, decreased bone-breaking strength, bone mineral density, and contents of ash, Ca, and P in the tibia were observed in T-2 toxin-challenged goslings (p < 0.05). In addition, T-2 toxin not only reduced TGP height (p < 0.05) but also induced TGP chondrocytes to be disorganized with reduced numbers and indistinct borders. As expected, the apoptosis-related genes (CASP9 and CASP3) were significantly up-regulated in chondrocytes challenged by T-2 toxin with a dose dependence, while cell differentiation and maturation-related genes (BMP6, BMP7, SOX9, and RUNX2) were down-regulated (p < 0.05). Considering bone metabolism, T-2 toxin dose-dependently and significantly induced a decreased number of osteoblasts and an increased number of osteoclasts in the tibia, with inhibited patterns of osteogenesis-related genes and enzymes and increased patterns of osteoclast-related genes and enzymes (p < 0.05). Similarly, the serum Ca and P concentrations and parathyroid hormone, calcitonin, and 1, 25-dihydroxycholecalciferol levels decreased under T-2 toxin exposure (p < 0.05). In summary, 2.0 mg/kg T-2 toxin significantly inhibited tibia weight, length, width, and circumference, as well as decreased bone-breaking strength, density, and composition (ash, calcium, and phosphorus) in 21-day-old goslings compared to the control and lower dose groups. Chondrocyte differentiation in TGP was delayed by 2.0 mg/kg T-2 toxin owing to cell apoptosis. In addition, 2.0 mg/kg T-2 toxin promoted bone resorption and inhibited osteogenesis in cellular morphology, gene expression, and hormonal modulation patterns. Thus, T-2 toxin significantly inhibited tibial growth and development with a dose dependence, accompanied by decreased bone geometry parameters and properties, hindered chondrocyte differentiation, and imbalanced bone metabolism. Full article
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14 pages, 2423 KiB  
Article
Phenotypic Identification, Genetic Characterization, and Selective Signal Detection of Huitang Duck
by Haojie Ma, Bingjin Lin, Zhiyao Yan, Yueyue Tong, Huichao Liu, Xi He and Haihan Zhang
Animals 2024, 14(12), 1747; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14121747 - 10 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 921
Abstract
The Huitang duck (HT), a long-domesticated elite local breed from Hunan Province, China, with excellent meat quality, has not had its population genetic structure and genomic selective sweeps extensively studied to date. This study measured the phenotypic characteristics of HT and conducted comparative [...] Read more.
The Huitang duck (HT), a long-domesticated elite local breed from Hunan Province, China, with excellent meat quality, has not had its population genetic structure and genomic selective sweeps extensively studied to date. This study measured the phenotypic characteristics of HT and conducted comparative analysis between HT and 16 different duck breeds, including wild, indigenous, and meat breeds, to characterize its population structure and genetic potential. The results revealed that HT is a dual-purpose indigenous breed with a genetic background closely related to the Youxian sheldrake and Linwu ducks. In the selective sweep analysis between HT and Linwu ducks, genes such as PLCG2, FN1, and IGF2BP2, which are associated with muscle growth and development, were identified near the 27 selection signals. The comparison between HT and Jinding ducks revealed 68 selective signals that contained important genes associated with ovarian development (GRIK4, MAP3K8, and TGIF1) and egg-laying behaviors (ERBB4). Selective sweep analysis between HT and Youxian sheldrake ducks found 93 selective regions covering genes related to both meat (IGF1R and IGFBP5) and egg-production (FOXO3 and ITPR1) traits. Our study may provide novel knowledge for exploring the population structure and genetic potential of HT, offering a theoretical basis for its breeding strategies in the future. Full article
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