248 Effect of broiler breeder age and glutamine on the development of the intestinal mucosa of chicks during the first week of the age F. Dahlke 1 , A . Maiorka 1 , A.V. Fischer da Silva 1 , I.C. Boleli 2 , M. Macari 2 1 Universidade Federal do Paraná, Cutitiba, Paraná, Brazil, 2 Universidade Estadual, Jacobicabal, Sao Paulo, Brazil Email:fdahlke@ufpr.br Introduction The effect of glutamine on the structure of the intestinal mucosa, after suffering any damage is raising interest due to the fact that this amino acid is the main metabolite which nourishes the enterocytes. Yet, the mechanism that promotes proliferation of the intestinal cells is not well known. It might be related with two events: increase of Na + /H +¨ exchange at the plasmatic membrane and increase of ornithine descarboxylase specific activity. Glutamine is also able to raise gene transcription, by increasing the activity of kinase protein which activates mitogenesis (Blikslarge et al., 1997). Chick’s weight is determinated by eggs initial weight. Older breeders produce bigger eggs which become chicks with higher weight at eclosion moment. In other words, higher consumption levels of protein at the beginning of laying, provide better albumen quality which becomes thicker, delaying oxygen exchanges, the absorption of yolk sac and embryo uptake of vitamins through egg yolk (Brake, 1995). As the embryo produces 90% of its energy from fat acid oxidative process, oxygen deficit would slow lipid oxidation and embryo development. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the development of the intestinal mucosa of chicks at 7 days of age, proceeding from breeders of different ages and fed with and without glutamine supplement. Material and methods Thirty-two Cobb-500 TM male chicks were used. Immediately after hatching, chicks were housed in an environmentally controlled room where ambient temperature was maintained at thermo neutrality (33 o C) with continuous light. Chicks were distributed in battery pens with 8 chicks each divided into 4 groups: Chicks from broiler breeder with 30 weeks of age with glutamine supplement; chicks from broiler breeder with 60 weeks of age with glutamine supplement; chicks from broiler breeder with 30 weeks of age without glutamine supplement; and chicks from broiler breeder with 60 weeks of age without glutamine supplement. Water and feed were ad libitum. Seven days after hatching, 8 birds per treatment were slaughtered by cervical dislocation and, small intestine were measured (cm ± 0.01) and collected for analysis under light microscope, scanning and transmission electron microscope. Results Broiler breeder age showed no effect on the studied variables. At eclosion moment, embryos from older breeders presented a more developed intestinal mucosa, when compared to embryos from younger breeders. However this fact did not maintained at the end of the pre-initial stage. Glutamine supplement had a positive effect on villous height at duodenum (P= 0.009), jejunum (P= 0.006) and ileum (P= 0.001), cryptal depth at jejunum (P= 0.037). Glutamine is known to be an energetic substratum vital to rapid division cells, such as intestinal cells, stimulating its proliferation Broiler chicken forced to quantitative feeding restrictions and supplemented with L-glutamine present higher villous due to the fact that this birds also present higher expression of ornithine decarboxylase enzyme. Glutamine could have an important role on the maturation of chick intestinal mucosa during the first week of age. Table 1 Villous height (µm) and crypt depth (µm) at duodenum, jejunum and ileum. Duodenum (µm) Jejunum (µm) Ileum (µm) Broiler breeder age (weeks) Glut Villous Crypt Villous Crypt Villous Crypt 30 (+) 1131±39 170±26 595±70 96±26 505±31 91±12 30 (-) 1076±28 168±34 535±87 85±20 450±42 92±13 60 (+) 1119±57 171±28 598±71 96±24 508±30 89±14 60 (-) 1103±71 165±36 531±85 85±19 449±36 90±13 Main effects 30 1104 168 566 90 476 90 Broiler breeder age (weeks) 60 1111 169 565 91 479 90 (+) 1125 170 597 95 506 91 Glutamine (-) 1090 167 534 85 449 90 Probability Broiler breeder age (A) 0.573 0.852 0.966 0.952 0.869 0.518 Glutamine (B) 0.009 0.644 0.006 0.037 0.001 0.892 AxB 0.127 0.756 0.841 0.920 0.830 0.957 Conclusions Broiler breeder age revealed no effect on the development of the intestinal mucosa after the first week of life; Inclusion of glutamine seems to have a positive effect of the development of duodenum, jejunum and ileum villous, during broiler chick’s first week of life. Acknowledgements Authors would like to thank: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP– Proc. 98/11304-9) for financial support and Electronic Microscopy Laboratory of UNESP/Jaboticaba. References Blikslarger, A.T. and C. Roberts, 1997. Mechanisms of intestinal mucosal repair. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 211: 1437-1441. Brake, J.T., 1995. Pontos importantes de manejo no incubatório para uma boa eclosão. Pages 33-50 in Anais Conferência Apinco de Ciência e Tecnologia Avícolas. Curitiba, PR, Brasil. https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1752756200021517 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo, on 09 Feb 2020 at 21:08:03, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at