Toll-like receptors (TLR) recognize evolutionarily conserved molecular motifs (pathogen-associated molecular patterns) of infectious microbes and initiate innate immune response upon activation with relevant pathogens. This study investigated the acute effect of Salmonella Enteritidis challenge on TLR mRNA expression in cecum and spleen of birds from 3 distinct genetic lines. Chicks from broile...

The goal of these experiments was to determine the effects of CaCl2 and NaCl injections on spent fowl meat tenderness and oxidative stability. Two hundred spent Leghorn hens were used in this two-part study. In the first experiment, breast fillets from 160 spent Leghorn hens were harvested immediately after death, injected with 0.3 M CaCl2 or H2O, vacuum tumbled, and either cooked immediately a...

The present study was carried out to investigate differentially expressed chicken muscle proteins using proteomics approach. More than 300 protein spots were investigated for the muscle samples in 2DE gels and the differentially expressed protein spots between pectoralis and peroneus longus muscles from Cornish and White Leghorn breeds were characterized by MALDI-TOF. In pectoralis muscles, PGA...

While anti-human blood group B agglutinins are present in the majority of ordinary White Leghorn chicks by the age of 30 days, none could be demonstrated in germfree chicks up to the age of 60 days. Anti-B agglutinins in trace amounts were first found in germfree chicks 66 days old and increased to an average titer of about 1:2 by 91 days of age. This titer amounts to about 10 per cent of that ...

This study was conducted to validate echocardiography in chickens, and to compare cardiac structure and function between broiler and Leghorn chickens. Diameters of the right and left ventricles, and thicknesses of the left ventricular free wall and the interventricular septum were measured echocardiographically in 5- and 7-wk-old chickens from both lines. Images were obtained from minimally res...

In the wild, females choose males with potential good genes to increase their reproductive success in terms of attractive sons and, in the long run, more descendants. Whether this is true of domesticated species is yet uncertain. Our experiments demonstrate breed-specific mate choice among domesticated chickens. Sexually mature females of a traditional domestic chicken breed, White Crested Poli...