Evaluation if immediate early genes activation in the central nervous system of broilers subjected to heat stress in association with avian necrotic enteritis and Eimeria spp

• Grant number: 14/26936-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2015
• End date: February 29, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Pathology
• Principal Investigator: João Palermo Neto
• Grantee: Juliana Garcia da Silva Fonseca
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The poultry production industry has a leading role in providing animal protein not only in Brazil but also worldwide. Maintaining this high productivity is ensured by the technological improvements in animal breeding and production methods, resulting in the broiler being ready in less than 40 days. However, behavioral changes induced by the characteristics of the production system influence feed intake and compromise the welfare of animals may leading to reduced weight gain and quality of the final product. Thus, environmental stressors are capable of modulating the immune system of animals predisposing the development of infectious diseases such as necrotic enteritis and avian coccidiosis. Specific components of the immune response in association with stress act on the central nervous system stimulating the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, proteins that promote expression of immediate activation of genes, whose products turn on specific areas of the brain by modulating the behavior of animals and reducing the poultry productivity in response to environmental changes and the presence of pathogens. The products of the immediate early genes are important tools for the study because they allow scientists to map the functional activity of the brain, as they are part of the response to stressful stimuli and are able to alter many aspects of neuronal physiology. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the regions of greater activity in the broiler brain and relate them to heat stress as well as an isolated infection or co-infection of Clostridium perfringens and Eimeria spp. (AU)