Transcriptomics of hypothalamic responses of broiler chickens fed L-citrulline supplemented diets under different ambient temperatures

The above study is an original research that employs transcriptomics analysis to investigate the hypothalamic responses associated with dietary L-Citrulline treatment. L-Citrulline is a non-essential amino acid that is widely gaining research interest due to its role in thermoregulation and its efficiency as an arginine/nitric oxide precursor. Therefore, this study demonstrates that dietary supplementation of L-citrulline to broilers under different housing temperatures would stimulate regulatory pathways involved with brain development and feeding behavior. We have also identified potential candidate genes that would be beneficial in fostering further research on L-citrulline-induced hypothermia. Ross 308 broilers were raised from day-old and managed under standard conditions. Experimental diets were formulated to meet or exceed NRC requirements (Supplementary Data S1). Birds were fed two dietary treatments; basal diets or 1% L-Citrulline supplemented diets. At 28 days old. Birds were allocated to thermoneutral (TNZ- 24oC, 60% RH) or high temperature (HS-35oC, 60% RH) environments. The study had four (4) treatments comprising of CON (TNZ + basal diet); A (TNZ + L-Cit diet); B (HS + basal diet); C (HS+ L-Cit diet). Each treatment had 6 replicates of 12 chickens each. Weekly data was obtained for body weight and feed intake per replicate. At 42 days of age, 1 chicken per replicate was sacrificed and hypothalamic tissues were dissected and snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80 oC for further analysis