Title
The adaptive transport of folic acid in the intestine of laying hens with increased supplementation of dietary folic acid
Date Issued
01 January 2012
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
University of Manitoba
Publisher(s)
Oxford University Press
Abstract
Different aspects of folic acid (FA) transport in the intestine of the laying hen have been characterized. Less is known about the adaptive response of this process to a dietary challenge. To this end, a study was conducted to evaluate the effect of increased dietary FA supplementation on the rate of intestinal FA transport and the expression of the intestinal folate transporter genes, the proton-coupled folate transporters (PCFT) and the reduced folate carrier (RFC), in the laying hen. Twenty-four Shaver White hens at 34 wk of age were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 3 dietary treatments: 1) basal diet with no supplemental folate (n = 8), 2) basal diet + 10 mg/kg of crystalline FA (n = 8), and 3) basal diet + 100 mg/kg of crystalline FA (n = 8). A completely randomized design with 3 dietary treatments was used. Production performance was not affected by FA supplementation; however, egg and plasma folate concentrations increased (P < 0.001), whereas plasma homocysteine concentrations decreased (P < 0.011) in birds fed 10 or 100 mg of FA/kg of diet, relative to controls. Mucosal to serosal uptake of FA in the duodenum was decreased (P < 0.002), but the mRNA levels of the duodenal PCFT and RFC genes were not affected when birds were fed 10 or 100 mg of FA/kg of diet. In the jejunum, the mucosal to serosal uptake of FA, as well as the mRNA levels of the PCFT and RFC genes, were not influenced by increased FA supplementation. Overall, increased dietary levels of FA resulted in decreased transport of FA in the duodenum but not in the jejunum of laying hens. This decrease was not associated with decreased mRNA expression of the duodenal PCFT and RFC genes. Therefore, a posttranscriptional or translational adaptation of the intestinal folate transporters may be involved in the much lower transport of FA in the duodenum of laying hens during increased dietary supplementation of FA. © 2012 Poultry Science Association Inc.
Start page
121
End page
128
Volume
91
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Crías y mascotas
Biotecnología agrícola, Biotecnología alimentaria
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-83755195173
Source
Poultry Science
ISSN of the container
00325791
Sponsor(s)
This research was financially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) Collaborative Research and Development Grants Program with matching support from the Manitoba Egg Farmers (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) and the Egg Farmers of Canada (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada). The help of the following members of the Department of Animal Science, University of Manitoba, is gratefully acknowledged: G. Crow, H. Muc, J. Levandoski, A. Chartier, J. Neufeld, and N. Gakhar.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus