Saudi native chicken response to embryonic thermal manipulation: Comparative morphometric analysis of myofiber diameter of the pectoral and thigh muscles

Background: Native Saudi chickens have the genetic capacity to develop well and produce eggs in hot environments, allowing them to withstand heat stress. Thermal alteration is one of the most significant suggested tactics that aim to improve muscle growth and growth performance during embryogenesi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ibrahim Albokhadaim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tripoli University 2025-04-01
Series:Open Veterinary Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ejmanager.com/fulltextpdf.php?mno=229307
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849312197324308480
author Ibrahim Albokhadaim
author_facet Ibrahim Albokhadaim
author_sort Ibrahim Albokhadaim
collection DOAJ
description Background: Native Saudi chickens have the genetic capacity to develop well and produce eggs in hot environments, allowing them to withstand heat stress. Thermal alteration is one of the most significant suggested tactics that aim to improve muscle growth and growth performance during embryogenesis genetically. Aim: This study assessed the impact of temperature modulation on the hatchability, body weight, and myofiber diameter of pectoral and thigh muscles in native Saudi chickens. Methods: In this study, 300 viable eggs were equally divided and at random into three groups. The control group was maintained at 37.8°C with 56% relative humidity. The other two groups (TM1 and TM2) were subjected to temperature manipulation and kept at 39°C for 18 hours daily at 65% relative humidity during the embryonic days ED 4–7 and ED 7–10, respectively. Changes were described by analyzing paraffin slices of the thigh and pectoral muscles. Results: The hatchability rate was somewhat higher in the TM1 and TM2 groups than in the control group, but there was no appreciable shift in the embryonic body weight. TM2 group had a significantly higher body weight at post-hatch days 10 and 15 than TM1 and the control group. Furthermore, compared to TM1 and the control group, the TM2 group's pectoral and thigh myofiber diameters were considerably greater. Thus, without negatively impacting the hatchability rate or embryonic body weight, morphometrical outcomes of TM2 pectoral and thigh muscles during ED 7–10 increased the sensitivity of pectoral and thigh muscles to heat stress. Gene expression analysis revealed that the heat shock proteins were highly expressed in the thigh muscle of the TM1 than the control group, with Hsp70 showing a higher level of expression than Hsp60, Hsp90, and Hsp108. In contrast, there was no appreciable change in the mRNA expression of Hsp60, Hsp70, and Hsp108 in thigh muscle when TM1 was heated in ED18. Conclusion: Thus, the thermal manipulation technique could be exploited by commercial breeders to improve the muscle growth of local chickens in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [Open Vet J 2025; 15(4.000): 1565-1575]
format Article
id doaj-art-b0280b3bcc4846be82797db175fbf1cd
institution Kabale University
issn 2226-4485
2218-6050
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Tripoli University
record_format Article
series Open Veterinary Journal
spelling doaj-art-b0280b3bcc4846be82797db175fbf1cd2025-08-20T03:53:08ZengTripoli UniversityOpen Veterinary Journal2226-44852218-60502025-04-011541565157510.5455/OVJ.2025.v15.i4.7229307Saudi native chicken response to embryonic thermal manipulation: Comparative morphometric analysis of myofiber diameter of the pectoral and thigh musclesIbrahim Albokhadaim0Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Al-Hassa 31982, Saudi ArabiaBackground: Native Saudi chickens have the genetic capacity to develop well and produce eggs in hot environments, allowing them to withstand heat stress. Thermal alteration is one of the most significant suggested tactics that aim to improve muscle growth and growth performance during embryogenesis genetically. Aim: This study assessed the impact of temperature modulation on the hatchability, body weight, and myofiber diameter of pectoral and thigh muscles in native Saudi chickens. Methods: In this study, 300 viable eggs were equally divided and at random into three groups. The control group was maintained at 37.8°C with 56% relative humidity. The other two groups (TM1 and TM2) were subjected to temperature manipulation and kept at 39°C for 18 hours daily at 65% relative humidity during the embryonic days ED 4–7 and ED 7–10, respectively. Changes were described by analyzing paraffin slices of the thigh and pectoral muscles. Results: The hatchability rate was somewhat higher in the TM1 and TM2 groups than in the control group, but there was no appreciable shift in the embryonic body weight. TM2 group had a significantly higher body weight at post-hatch days 10 and 15 than TM1 and the control group. Furthermore, compared to TM1 and the control group, the TM2 group's pectoral and thigh myofiber diameters were considerably greater. Thus, without negatively impacting the hatchability rate or embryonic body weight, morphometrical outcomes of TM2 pectoral and thigh muscles during ED 7–10 increased the sensitivity of pectoral and thigh muscles to heat stress. Gene expression analysis revealed that the heat shock proteins were highly expressed in the thigh muscle of the TM1 than the control group, with Hsp70 showing a higher level of expression than Hsp60, Hsp90, and Hsp108. In contrast, there was no appreciable change in the mRNA expression of Hsp60, Hsp70, and Hsp108 in thigh muscle when TM1 was heated in ED18. Conclusion: Thus, the thermal manipulation technique could be exploited by commercial breeders to improve the muscle growth of local chickens in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [Open Vet J 2025; 15(4.000): 1565-1575]http://www.ejmanager.com/fulltextpdf.php?mno=229307embryogenesisfiber diameterpectoral musclethigh musclethermal manipulation
spellingShingle Ibrahim Albokhadaim
Saudi native chicken response to embryonic thermal manipulation: Comparative morphometric analysis of myofiber diameter of the pectoral and thigh muscles
Open Veterinary Journal
embryogenesis
fiber diameter
pectoral muscle
thigh muscle
thermal manipulation
title Saudi native chicken response to embryonic thermal manipulation: Comparative morphometric analysis of myofiber diameter of the pectoral and thigh muscles
title_full Saudi native chicken response to embryonic thermal manipulation: Comparative morphometric analysis of myofiber diameter of the pectoral and thigh muscles
title_fullStr Saudi native chicken response to embryonic thermal manipulation: Comparative morphometric analysis of myofiber diameter of the pectoral and thigh muscles
title_full_unstemmed Saudi native chicken response to embryonic thermal manipulation: Comparative morphometric analysis of myofiber diameter of the pectoral and thigh muscles
title_short Saudi native chicken response to embryonic thermal manipulation: Comparative morphometric analysis of myofiber diameter of the pectoral and thigh muscles
title_sort saudi native chicken response to embryonic thermal manipulation comparative morphometric analysis of myofiber diameter of the pectoral and thigh muscles
topic embryogenesis
fiber diameter
pectoral muscle
thigh muscle
thermal manipulation
url http://www.ejmanager.com/fulltextpdf.php?mno=229307
work_keys_str_mv AT ibrahimalbokhadaim saudinativechickenresponsetoembryonicthermalmanipulationcomparativemorphometricanalysisofmyofiberdiameterofthepectoralandthighmuscles