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Abstract
1. The objective of the experiment was to determine the influence of age, sex and rearing system on Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) gene expression in gut, lung and lymphoid tissues and physiological responses to stress in male and female indigenous ducks of Tamil Nadu, India.
2. A total of 36 ducks (12 males and 24 females) were obtained from local farmers and tissue samples of gut tissues (duodenum, jejunum, ileum and caecum), lymphoid organs (spleen and bursa) and lungs were collected in RNAlater solution followed by RNA extraction.
3. After normalisation to β-actin (endogenous control) qPCR analysis identified a significant effect of age, sex and rearing system on TLR7 expression in the ducks.
4. A significant up-regulation of TLR7 expression was observed in lungs, duodenum, jejunum, ileum and caecum of sexually mature (45 wk) compared with that of immature ducks (16 wk). Among sexes, male ducks had significantly higher TLR7 expression than female ducks.
5. Age and sex interactions were significant in lungs, duodenum, jejunum and caecum. Ducks reared in an extensive housing system showed significantly higher TLR7 expression in bursa, lungs, duodenum, ileum and caecum compared to intensively reared ducks. There were no effects of age, sex and rearing systems on TLR7 expression in the spleen.
6. The heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and serum corticosterone were higher in ducks reared on an intensive system compared with ducks from an extensive rearing system.