Effects of maternal dietary manganese and incubation temperature on hatchability, antioxidant status, and expression of heat shock proteins in chick embryos.

To investigate whether supplementing manganese (Mn) to the maternal diet could reduce the deleterious effect of heat stress on the developing embryo, the hatchability, antioxidant status, and expression of heat shock proteins (HSP) were evaluated in chick embryos under normal and high incubation temperatures. A completely randomized design ( = 6) with 2 maternal dietary Mn treatments (unsupplemented control basal diet versus the basal diet + 120 mg Mn/kg as inorganic Mn) × 2 incubation temperatures (normal, 37.8°C, versus high, 39.0°C) was used. High incubation temperature did not affect ( > 0.19) hatchability and embryo mortality and development but did increase ( < 0.05) activities of heart manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and liver copper zinc superoxide dismutase and liver MnSOD mRNA and protein levels in embryos. High incubation temperature also decreased ( < 0.003) HSP70 protein level in the heart but had no effects ( > 0.07) in the liver of embryos. Maternal diet with Mn supplementation not only increased ( < 0.05) the hatchability and Mn content ( < 0.001) in the yolk and embryonic tissues and the activity of MnSOD in the heart ( < 0.004) as well as relative liver weight ( < 0.05) under normal incubation temperature but also decreased ( ≤ 0.05) embryo mortality and HSP90 mRNA level in the liver and heart of embryos. Furthermore, under high incubation temperature, maternal diet Mn supplementation increased ( < 0.002) MnSOD protein expression in the liver of embryos but had no effect ( > 0.43) under normal incubation temperature. These results indicated that high incubation temperature induced self-protective responses of chick embryos with a modification of antioxidant status and a depression of HSP70 protein level. Maternal dietary supplementation of Mn could improve the hatchability as well as antioxidant ability to protect against heat challenge in embryos during incubation.