Improving the efficiency of feed utilization in poultry by selection. 2. Genetic parameters of excretion traits and correlations with anatomy of the gastro-intestinal tract and digestive efficiency

BMC Genetics

Research Article

Denis Bastianelli¹  Hugues de Verdal²  Elisabeth Le Bihan-Duval²  Sandrine Mignon-Grasteau²  Agnès Narcy²  Séverine Urvoix²  Nathalie Même²  Hervé Chapuis³ 

[1] CIRAD, UMR SELMET, 34398, Montpellier cedex 5, France;INRA, UR83 Recherches Avicoles, F-37380, Nouzilly, France;SYSAAF, UR83 Recherches Avicoles, F-37380, Nouzilly, France;

关键词: Genetic Correlation;    Heritability Estimate;    Feed Efficiency;    Feed Conversion Ratio;    Chicken Manure;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2156-12-71

 received in 2011-05-17, accepted in 2011-08-17,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPoultry production has been widely criticized for its negative environmental impact related to the quantity of manure produced and to its nitrogen and phosphorus content. In this study, we investigated which traits related to excretion could be used to select chickens for lower environmental pollution.The genetic parameters of several excretion traits were estimated on 630 chickens originating from 2 chicken lines divergently selected on apparent metabolisable energy corrected for zero nitrogen (AMEn) at constant body weight. The quantity of excreta relative to feed consumption (CDUDM), the nitrogen and phosphorus excreted, the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio and the water content of excreta were measured, and the consequences of such selection on performance and gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) characteristics estimated. The genetic correlations between excretion, GIT and performance traits were established.ResultsHeritability estimates were high for CDUDM and the nitrogen excretion rate (0.30 and 0.29, respectively). The other excretion measurements showed low to moderate heritability estimates, ranging from 0.10 for excreta water content to 0.22 for the phosphorus excretion rate. Except for the excreta water content, the CDUDM was highly correlated with the excretion traits, ranging from -0.64 to -1.00. The genetic correlations between AMEn or CDUDM and the GIT characteristics were very similar and showed that a decrease in chicken excretion involves an increase in weight of the upper part of the GIT, and a decrease in the weight of the small intestine.ConclusionIn order to limit the environmental impact of chicken production, AMEn and CDUDM seem to be more suitable criteria to include in selection schemes than feed efficiency traits.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© de Verdal et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.