Broiler heat stress experiment data Miura20250807

This is the raw data on the effects of heat stress on broiler growth, feed intake, and gene expression in the liver. The methods are described below.
Animal rearing and feeding
A total of 198 healthy 0-day-post-hatching (dph) broiler chicks were purchased from Mori Breeding Farm and used in this study. The chicks were randomly divided, with 22 chicks placed in each of nine 1.5-m2 cages. Three cages were then assigned to each of the three dietary groups (control, DSP 0.01%, and DSP 0.1%), to give a triplicate per group (n = 22 per replicate). After 14 days, the cage size was expanded to 3.0 m2.
Experimental feeds were formulated based on a commercial experimental diet, which at 21 dph was switched to a feed formulated for the later rearing period. The commercial feed-grade DSP product (Silkrose, Shintoa, Tokyo, Japan) was supplemented to broiler feed depending on the experimental dose. DSP was previously confirmed to exhibit immunostimulatory properties based on nitric oxide (NO) production assays using RAW264.7 cells (Ali et al., 2021).
The room temperature was gradually increased from 25°C to 30°C on 22 dph, controlled by adjusting the air conditioning. Postmortem examinations of any broilers that died were performed by a veterinarian to identify the causes of death and clinical signs. Feed intake was measured at 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 dph. The weight of all broilers was measured at 7, 21, 28, 35, 42 dph, and measured partially at 0 and 14 dph.

RT-qPCR
RNA samples were normalized to 500 ng/µL and reverse-transcribed into cDNA using a High-Capacity cDNA Reverse Transcription Kit, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, on a TAdvanced Thermal Cycler. Primers targeting heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), Hsp90, Hsp40, heat shock factor 2 (Hsf2), lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha factor (Litaf), interleukin (IL)-6 (Il6), and IL-10 (Il10) were designed based on NCBI resources.