Proteomic analysis of liver tissue between fat and lean broiler lines

ABSTRACT

1. The liver is the major site of fatty acid synthesis in chickens. Lipid metabolism in the liver correlates with the deposition of triglycerides in adipose tissue. Northeast Agricultural University broilers lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content (NEAUHLF) provide a unique model to study the mechanisms of fat deposition.

2. In previous studies, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the livers of fat and lean broilers were evaluated across different developmental stages. Whether protein expression differences exist between the livers of fat and lean broilers is largely unknown. The current experiment used 2D fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) to screen expressed protein (DEP) spots in the liver tissues of NEAUHLF at one, four and seven weeks of age.

3. Twenty-two DEPs were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS that were involved in lipid, energy, protein and amino acid metabolism, oxidative stress, cytoskeleton, and transport.

4. These data furthered the understanding of the fat and lean phenotypes of broiler chickens.

KEYWORDS:

• 2D-DIGE
• chicken
• liver
• proteomics
• differentially expressed proteins

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank members of the poultry breeding group at the Northeast Agricultural University in China for managing the birds. The authors acknowledge funding from the University Nursing Program for Young Scholars with Creative Talents in Heilongjiang Province (No. UNPYSCT-2018145) and the China Agriculture Research System (No. CARS-41).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the China Agriculture Research System [No. CARS-41]; University Nursing Program for Young Scholars with Creative Talents in Heilongjiang Province [No. UNPYSCT-2018145].