Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Molecular Biology Reports https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-019-05182-y SHORT COMMUNICATION Inter genotype diferences in expression of genes involved in glucose metabolism in the establishment of hepatic steatosis in Muscovy, Pekin and mule ducks Annabelle Tavernier 1  · Stéphane Davail 1  · Marianne Houssier 1  · Marie‑Dominique Bernadet 2  · Karine Ricaud 1  · Karine Gontier 1,3 Received: 23 April 2019 / Accepted: 5 November 2019 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019 Abstract In waterfowls, overfeeding leads to a hepatic steatosis, also called “foie gras”. Our main objectives were to determine what is the share of genes involvement of glucose metabolism in the establishment of fatty liver in three genotypes of waterfowls: Muscovy (Cairina moschata), Pekin ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) and their crossbreed, the mule duck. 288 male ducks of Pekin, Muscovy and mule genotypes were reared until weeks 12 and overfed between weeks 12 and 14. We analysed gene expression at the beginning, the middle and the end of the overfeeding period in diferent tissues. We have shown an upregu- lation of glucose transporters (GLUT) in peripheral tissues (pectoralis major or adipose tissue) in Pekin ducks. In addition, GLUT2 was not found in jejunal mucosa and another GLUT seems to replace it 3 h after the meal: GLUT3. Mule ducks upregulating GLUT3 earlier compared to Pekin ducks. However, these results need further investigations. In liver, globally, Pekin ducks exhibit the highest expression of GLUT or enzymes implicated in glycolysis. The few signifcant variations of gene expressions in glucose metabolism between these three genotypes and the momentary specifc overexpression of GLUT do not allow us to detect a lot of specifc genotype diferences. To conclude, the diferences in response to overfeed- ing of Pekin, Muscovy and mule ducks, for the establishment of hepatic steatosis, cannot be only explained by the glucose metabolism at transcriptomic level. Keywords Hepatic steatosis · Glucose metabolism · Gene expression · Ducks Introduction France is the frst country of “foie gras” production (also called fatty liver) with 20,000 tons produced a year (CIFOG 2018) which represents 80% of world production. In indus- try, mule duck is principally used to produce foie gras, it is a crossbreed between a Muscovy male duck (Cairina mos- chata) and a female Pekin duck (Anas platyrhynchos). Mule duck presents greater performance in response to overfeed- ing, such as heavier fatty liver and bigger muscle (pecto- ralis major). In this domestic waterfowls, hepatic steatosis induced by overfeeding gather many mechanisms, leading to a strong activity of de novo lipogenesis and steatosis. Metabolic disorders, such as insulin resistance and hyper- glycemia, are frequently associated with hepatic steatosis [1]. The lipids mainly accumulated in steatosis are predomi- nantly triglycerides [2–4]. Indeed, overfeeding consists in giving, over a short period, a large quantity of food based on corn (starch-rich raw material). Many actors are involved in the absorption of meal and the transport of glucose can be part of its mechanism. Glucose transporters (GLUT) fam- ily is divided into three classes with diferent specifcities and localizations. Firstly, in intestine, glucose absorption is principally achieved by a high afnity active transport through Sodium Glucose Linked Transporter 1 (SGLT1) [5, 6] located on the apical membrane of the enterocytes. On basolateral membrane, the output of glucose is mediated * Karine Gontier karine.gontier@univ-pau.fr 1 Nutrition, Métabolisme, Aquaculture, INRA, Univ. Pau & Pays Adour, E2S UPPA, UMR 1419, 64310 Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France 2 INRA UEPFG, 1076 Route de Haut Mauco, 40280 Benquet, France 3 UMR 1419 INRA UPPA NuMéA, 371 Rue du Ruisseau, 40000 Mont-de-Marsan, France