Desempenho e transportadores intestinais em codornas japonesas submetidas a restrição alimentar pós-eclosão

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance and expression of neutral amino acid transporters (Asct1, B0at and Pept1) in Japanese quails at 7, 14 and 21 days of age submitted to food restriction at 0, 24 and 48 hours after the hatching. The analyzes were carried out at the Laboratory for the Evaluation of Products of Animal Origin – LAPOA, Areia-PB. 120 female quails from one day old were used, distributed in a completely randomized design in three experimental treatments, eight replications with five birds each. The birds had their weight and feed intake quantified weekly by weighing, and at 7 and 14 days of age jejunum samples were collected from 5 animals of each treatment for molecular biology analysis, evaluating feed intake, gain of weight, body weight, feed conversion and expression of transporters (Asct1, B0at and Pept1). Quails at 7 days of age that were not submitted to food restriction had a higher feed intake, weight gain and body weight when compared to animals restricted for 24 and 48 hours. At 14 days of age, feed intake, weight gain and body weight were higher in animals without food restriction when compared to animals restricted for 48 hours and there was no difference between animals submitted to a 24-hour fast. At 21 days of age, there was no significant difference, thus indicating that there was a compensatory gain in the animals. As for Asct1 gene expression, it was higher in quails with immediate access to food after hatching at 7 days of age compared to animals submitted to restriction for 48 hours. Animals restricted for 24 hours showed intermediate values. At 14 days, the expression of birds with immediate access to food after hatching was lower than in birds submitted to food restriction for 24 and 48 hours. For B0at, at 7 days of age there was no significant difference between treatments. And at 14 days of age, animals that had immediate access had a higher gene expression when compared to animals that underwent food restriction. At 7 days of age, there was no significant difference between treatments for the Pept1 transporter. While at 14 days of age, there was a significant difference between the quails that had immediate access to food when compared to the animals that suffered a 24-hour restriction.