Effect of emulsifier supplementation on UCP3 gene expression in different tissues of broiler chickens

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 MSc Student, Animal Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran.

2 Professor of Animal Science Department, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman

3 Professor, Animal Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran.

4 Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Science, Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University, Bila Tserkva, Ukraine.

5 Department of Animal Science, Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University, Bila Tserkva, Ukraine

6 Sumy National Agrarian University, Sumy, Ukraine.

7 Associate Professor, Poltava State Agrarian University, Ukraine.

8 Department of Surgical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.

Abstract

Objective
Emulsifiers can change the access of cells to fatty acids by increasing fat digestion and absorption and affect the pathways regulating energy metabolism. The Uncoupling Protein 3 (UCP3) gene is known as one of the genes related to mitochondrial function, fatty acid oxidation, and maintaining cellular energy balance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary emulsifier supplementation on the relative expression of the UCP3 gene in different tissues of broiler chickens.
Materials and methods
In this experiment, 320 Ross broiler chickens were studied in a completely randomized design. The experimental treatments included four types of diets (basal diet, diet with a 5% reduction in protein, diet with a 100 kcal reduction in metabolic energy, and diet with a simultaneous reduction of 5% protein and 100 kcal of energy) at two levels of no consumption and consumption of emulsifier supplement. Each treatment included four replicates and each replicate included 10 chickens. After the end of the 42-day rearing period, femur muscle, breast muscle, liver and spleen tissue samples were collected and frozen in liquid nitrogen. Total RNA was extracted, cDNA was synthesized and UCP3 gene expression was assessed using Real-Time PCR. GAPDH gene was used as a reference gene and changes in gene expression were calculated using the 2^-ΔΔCt method.
Results
The results showed that emulsifier supplement caused a relative decrease in UCP3 gene expression in all tissues studied. In femur muscle, a decrease in UCP3 expression was observed compared to the control group, but this change was not statistically significant (P>0.05). In breast muscle, emulsifier consumption caused a significant decrease in UCP3 gene expression (P<0.01). Also, the greatest decrease in expression was observed in liver tissue, which was statistically highly significant (P<0.001). In contrast, changes in UCP3 expression in spleen tissue were not significant.
Conclusion
Based on the results of this study, emulsifier supplementation, in addition to possibly improving dietary fat utilization, can modulate the expression of gene related to energy metabolism in different tissues of broiler chickens. The decrease in UCP3 expression in breast muscle and liver probably indicates an improvement in cellular energy status, a decrease in mitochondrial metabolic stress, and a decrease in the need to activate adaptive pathways related to fatty acid oxidation. These findings highlight the importance of investigating molecular responses to nutritional additives alongside performance indicators and could help develop more precise nutritional strategies in the poultry industry.

Keywords

References

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Agricultural Biotechnology Journal
Volume 18, Issue 4
August 2026
Pages 187-202

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