This study investigated the effects of floor and cage rearing systems on performance,meat quality,and enteric microorganisms of male and female yellow feather broilers.Two hundred Xueshan chickens(42 days old;100 of e...This study investigated the effects of floor and cage rearing systems on performance,meat quality,and enteric microorganisms of male and female yellow feather broilers.Two hundred Xueshan chickens(42 days old;100 of each sex)were divided into four groups,according to sex and rearing system(stainless-steel cage or litter floor).Male and cage-reared broilers exhibited better(P<0.001)performance and higher(P≤0.001)eviscerated percentage than female and floor-reared broilers.The interaction between rearing system and sex had an effect(P<0.05)on the percentage of breast and thigh muscles.Female floor-reared broilers presented the highest(P<0.02)percentage of breast and thigh muscles among all the groups.In both sexes,the abdominal fat content in cage-reared broilers was higher(P<0.01)than that in floor-reared broilers.Female cage-reared broilers exhibited better(P<0.05)meat quality of breast muscle than other groups.An analysis of welfare observations indicated that the feather quality of floor-reared broilers was better(P<0.01)than that of cage-reared broilers,whereas the gait scores were not significantly affected(P>0.05)by rearing system.The enteric microbiota assessment by 16 S rRNA amplicon-based sequencing showed that Firmicutes,Proteobacteria,and Bacteroidetes were the most prevalent phyla in both rearing systems,and that the cecum was relatively stable in terms of microbiome composition.Floor-reared broilers exhibited a richer diversity of bacteria in the intestinal tract than cage-reared broilers,while alpha diversity was not significantly different(P>0.05)among the groups.The ratio of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes and the abundance of Helicobacter and Romboutsia could potentially affect the production of broilers.These findings indicate that cage rearing improved the production of male Xueshan broilers,which may be due to the difference in enteric microbiota between cage and floor rearing systems.展开更多
Anastrepha ludens(Loew)is controlled in Mexico using sterile insect technique(SIT).SIT relies primarily on mass-reared insects,which are subjected to the effects of selection during colonization and rearing,and that f...Anastrepha ludens(Loew)is controlled in Mexico using sterile insect technique(SIT).SIT relies primarily on mass-reared insects,which are subjected to the effects of selection during colonization and rearing,and that frequently result in modifications of their biology and behavior.Here,we propose and evaluate a novel“bi-environmental cage”for colony management which promotes more natural sexual selection.The cage allows each sex to reach sexual maturity in separate compartments acclimatized according to natural conditions.Females mature in areas where they can recognize oviposition sites,while males mature in areas populated with small trees to allow establishment of territories in leks and performance of courtship behaviors.To determine whether the bi-environmental cage can minimize the potential adverse effects on mating competitiveness,two strains of A.ludens were tested;wild flies strain and genetic sexing strain Tapachula 7(mass-reared flies).We found that after 4 generations in the mass-reared flies in the bi-environmental cage showed a level of fecundity similar to that of flies from the conventional cage.A similar pattern was also seen in the case of wild flies in both types of cages.In addition,other biological attributes of the wild strain assessed over six generations showed adaptability to mass-rearing conditions.Wild males from the bi-environmental cages were more sexually competitive than those from the conventional cage.Our results show that it is possible to mitigate many of the detrimental effects of domestication on the sexual performance of mass-reared males by using close-to-natural conditions for colony management.展开更多
基金supported by the National Science&Technology Pillar Program of China(2015BAD03B03)the National Natural Science Youth Fund of China(31802057)the priority academic program development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions,China。
文摘This study investigated the effects of floor and cage rearing systems on performance,meat quality,and enteric microorganisms of male and female yellow feather broilers.Two hundred Xueshan chickens(42 days old;100 of each sex)were divided into four groups,according to sex and rearing system(stainless-steel cage or litter floor).Male and cage-reared broilers exhibited better(P<0.001)performance and higher(P≤0.001)eviscerated percentage than female and floor-reared broilers.The interaction between rearing system and sex had an effect(P<0.05)on the percentage of breast and thigh muscles.Female floor-reared broilers presented the highest(P<0.02)percentage of breast and thigh muscles among all the groups.In both sexes,the abdominal fat content in cage-reared broilers was higher(P<0.01)than that in floor-reared broilers.Female cage-reared broilers exhibited better(P<0.05)meat quality of breast muscle than other groups.An analysis of welfare observations indicated that the feather quality of floor-reared broilers was better(P<0.01)than that of cage-reared broilers,whereas the gait scores were not significantly affected(P>0.05)by rearing system.The enteric microbiota assessment by 16 S rRNA amplicon-based sequencing showed that Firmicutes,Proteobacteria,and Bacteroidetes were the most prevalent phyla in both rearing systems,and that the cecum was relatively stable in terms of microbiome composition.Floor-reared broilers exhibited a richer diversity of bacteria in the intestinal tract than cage-reared broilers,while alpha diversity was not significantly different(P>0.05)among the groups.The ratio of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes and the abundance of Helicobacter and Romboutsia could potentially affect the production of broilers.These findings indicate that cage rearing improved the production of male Xueshan broilers,which may be due to the difference in enteric microbiota between cage and floor rearing systems.
基金support provided for this research via the FAO/IAEA Coordinated Research Projects"Improvement of Colony Management in Insect Mass-rearing for SIT Applications"(CRP No.D42017)through project"Mass-rearing colony management for SIT application in Anastrepha fruit flies"(CRP Contract Number 22676).
文摘Anastrepha ludens(Loew)is controlled in Mexico using sterile insect technique(SIT).SIT relies primarily on mass-reared insects,which are subjected to the effects of selection during colonization and rearing,and that frequently result in modifications of their biology and behavior.Here,we propose and evaluate a novel“bi-environmental cage”for colony management which promotes more natural sexual selection.The cage allows each sex to reach sexual maturity in separate compartments acclimatized according to natural conditions.Females mature in areas where they can recognize oviposition sites,while males mature in areas populated with small trees to allow establishment of territories in leks and performance of courtship behaviors.To determine whether the bi-environmental cage can minimize the potential adverse effects on mating competitiveness,two strains of A.ludens were tested;wild flies strain and genetic sexing strain Tapachula 7(mass-reared flies).We found that after 4 generations in the mass-reared flies in the bi-environmental cage showed a level of fecundity similar to that of flies from the conventional cage.A similar pattern was also seen in the case of wild flies in both types of cages.In addition,other biological attributes of the wild strain assessed over six generations showed adaptability to mass-rearing conditions.Wild males from the bi-environmental cages were more sexually competitive than those from the conventional cage.Our results show that it is possible to mitigate many of the detrimental effects of domestication on the sexual performance of mass-reared males by using close-to-natural conditions for colony management.
