Evaluation of the role of maternal effects in regulating the rate of metabolism and expression of AMPK, NPY genes in Ross 308 broiler chickens

In this research, the effect of in ovo injection of egg yolk of native Khazak chicken into the egg yolk of the commercial Ross 308 strain at prior to incubation on some metabolic-related parameters were tested in the resulting progeny. The search parameters included feed intake, feed conversion ratio, some of serum biochemical parameters, malondialdehyde concentration as well as relative expression of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and Neuropeptide Y (NPY) genes in progeny's brain tissue. To achieve this goal, 320 fertile Ross 308 eggs were equally allocated in a completely randomized design into two experimental groups, those injected with Khazak yolk (Test) and control group. Blood and tissue samples were collected at the end of experiment and evaluated for the parameters noted. Compared with the control group, Khazak egg-yolk injection resulted in a significant improvement in the feed conversion ratio as well as significant decreases in serum triglyceride, triglyceride/HDL-C ratio, relative visceral fat mass content and levels of AMPK expression in the progeny's brain. In contrast, Khazak yolk injection had no effect on the 45-day body weight, cumulative feed intake, relative brain weight, serum glucose, cholesterol and LDL-c levels but also had no effects on malondialdehyde concentration and NPY expression in progeny brain tissue. According to the results of this study, the injection of native Khazak egg yolk into the yolk of the commercial Ross 308 eggs have effectively improved the feed efficiency and reduced AMPK expression in the diencephalon region of the progeny's brain.