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Egg Shell Quality of Selected Quail Lines
1054
RESEARCH NOTES
EGG SHELL QUALITY OF SELECTED QUAIL LINES H. L. MARKS' AND W. M. BRITTON 2 United Stales Department 0} Agriculture and University of Georgia (Received for publication January 7, 1972)
ABSTRACT Egg shell parameters of two selected Coturnix lines and their respective controls were investigated. P line progeny were from quail which had undergone 20 generations of selection for high 4-week body weight on a 28 percent protein diet while progeny from line T were from quail similarity established using a 20 percent protein diet containing 0.2 percent thiouracil. Nonselected controls (C p and Ct) were included under each environment. Lines were subjected to normal selection environments from hatching to four weeks. Thirty female quail from each line were placed in individual cages at five weeks and fed a gamebird breeder diet with egg quality data collected at 9 and 12 weeks of age. Egg shell characteristics (shell thickness, shell weight, specific gravity and beta backscatter) of the four lines were found to be •similar. POULTRY SCIENCE 51: 1054-1056, 1972
Wolford and Tanaka (1970) reviewed weight in quail {Coturnix coturnix research regarding the possible relation- japonica) under two nutritional environship between thyroid activity and egg ments was described by Marks (1971). shell quality. Feeding desiccated thyroid Line P was established by selection on a to chickens resulted in increased egg shell 28 percent protein diet, while Line T was weight (Asmundson and Pinsky, 1935). similarly established using a 20 percent Specific gravity of eggs increased when protein diet containing 0.2 percent thyroprotein (iodinated casein) was fed to thiouracil. Progeny from Line T showed laying hens (Gutteridge and Pratt, 1946; no decline in body weight when exposed Godfrey, 1949; Gabuten and Shaffner, to a 28 percent protein diet containing 1954). Although conflicting results have thiouracil, while body weights of P line been reported regarding the influence of quail were markedly reduced. Thus, it thyroprotein on shell thickness, Hutt appears that Line T quail have developed and Go we (1948) observed a nonsignifi- an inherent ability to eliminate the cant effect of thyroprotein on egg shell growth depressing effect of thiouracil. strength. Studies by Howarth and Marks (unpublished) demonstrated definite alterations Thiouracil, an antithyroid compound, decreased egg shell thickness (Berg and in thyroid histology and L3i uptake in the Bearse, 1948) and specific gravity (Gabu- T line as compared to the P line and a ten and Shaffner, 1954) when fed to lay- nonselected control. The current study ing hens; however, other investigations was initiated to investigate egg shell pahave not shown a significant effect of rameters in Coturnix and to compare egg thiouracil on egg shell thickness (Berg shell characteristics of eggs from the T quail line with eggs from two other quail and Bearse, 1951). populations. Selection for high four-week body 1 Coordinator, Southern Regional Poultry Breeding Project, A.S.R., A.R.S., U.S.D.A., Athens, Georgia 30601. 2 Poultry Science Department, University of Georgia, Livestock-Poultry Bldg. Athens, Georgia 30601.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Eggs from 120 quail females were evaluated in this study. Thirty female quail from both the P and T quail lines (Marks, 1971) which had undergone 20 generations
1055
RESEARCH NOTES
of selection were randomly chosen and placed in individual laying cages. Thirty control females (C p and Ct) reared with each of the selected lines were caged in a similar manner. Thus, there were four separate populations of 30 female quail (P, Cp, T, Ct) available for egg shell evaluations. The T and Ct populations received a 20 percent protein diet containing 0.2 percent thiouracil from 0 to 4 weeks while the P and Cp populations received a 28 percent protein diet for the first four weeks. Starting at four weeks all populations received a standard gamebird breeder diet. Eggs were saved for a five-day period when the quail were nine weeks of age (Trial 1) and again for a similar period at 12 weeks of age (Trial 2). Egg weight, specific gravity, shell thickness and shell weight were determined on all eggs. Five eggs from each of the four populations were used daily for beta backscatter determinations. Beta backscatter was determined using a 90Sr source and a surface barrier detector (James and Retzer, 1967). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Presented in Table 1 are population means for egg production, egg weight, shell thickness, shell weight, specific gravity and beta backscatter measurements. There appeared to be little variation between populations with significant differences present only for egg weight and egg production (Table 1). Egg weights for all populations were significantly (P<.01) different from each other, however, the greatest variation was due to the selected lines (P and T) being approximately 1.5 to 2.0 g. heavier than eggs from the control population. This increase is likely associated with the larger body size of the selected lines (Marks, 1971). Egg production (mean daily eggs per 30 quail) appeared higher in the control
TABLE 1.—Means* for egg shell quality traits by population Population Trait
c,t Egg Production § Egg Weight (g.) Shell Thickness (mm. X100) Shell Weight (g.) Specific Gravity Beta Backscatterjl
26.4ab" 9.7d 26.4" .85" 1.068" 1052"
T 25.9ab 12.1" 26.7" .93" 1.066" 1069"
Cpt
P
27.7" 10.1°
24.5b 11.4b
26.7" .87" 1.068" 1049"
26.2" .90" 1.066" 1067"
* Each value is a mean of all eggs laid in two five-day trial periods. t Controls reared under T environment. t Controls reared under P environment. § Eggs per day/30 birds. II Counts X W . ** Population means in the same row with different superscripts differ significantly (P<.01).
(Cp) than in the P line. Analysis of six weeks' egg production of these populations, however, indicated no statistically significant differences between populations in egg production. These data suggest that quail eggs have thinner shells than chicken eggs and support similar findings by Mahmoud and Coleman (1967). Specific gravity values were comparable with those reported by Goodman (1965) while the shells were thinner than the values reported by Mahmoud and Coleman (1967) and Goodman (1965). Although possible changes may have incurred in thyroid activity of the T quail population, the results of this study indicate egg shell characteristics of this population do not differ from populations with normal thyroid activity. REFERENCES Asmundson, V. S., and P. Pinsky, 1935. The effect of the thyroid on the formation of the hen's eggs. Poultry Sci. 14: 99-104. Berg, L. R., and G. E. Bearse, 1948. The effect of iodinated casein and thiouracil on the performance of White Leghorn pullets. Poultry Sci. 27: 653. Berg, L. R., and G. E. Bearse, 1951. Effect of iodinated casein and thiouracil on the performance of laying birds. Poultry Sci. 30: 21-28. Gabuten, A. R., and C. S. Shaffner, 1954. A study of the physiological mechanisms affecting specific
1056
RESEARCH NOTES
gravity of chicken eggs. Poultry Sci. 33: 47-53. Godfrey, G. F., 1949. The effect of feeding thyroprotein on egg shell quality and hatchability. Poultry Sci. 28: 867-873. Goodman, B. L., 1965. Repeatability of egg quality traits in the Coturnix quail. Poultry Sci. 44:13381339. Gutteridge, H. S., and J. M. Pratt, 1946. The effect of vitamin D2 and D 3 in fish oils and of iodocasein on shell quality. Poultry Sci. 25: 89-91. Hutt, F. B., and R. S. Gowe, 1948. On the supposed effect of iodocasein upon egg production. Poultry Sci. 27: 286-293.
James, P. E., and H. J. Retzer, 1967. Measuring egg shell strength by beta backscatter technique. Poultry Sci. 46: 1200-1203. Mahmound, T. H., and T. H. Coleman, 1967. A comparison of the proportion of component parts of Bobwhite and Coturnix eggs. Poultry Sci. 46: 1168-1171. Marks, H. L., 1971. Evaluation of growth selected quail lines under different nutritional environments. Poultry Sci. 50: 931-937. Wolford, J. H., and K. Tanaka, 1970. Factors influencing egg shell quality. A review. World's Poultry Sci. J. 26: 763-780.
IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTITATION OF HEXADECANAL AND OCTADECANAL IN BROILER MUSCLE PHOSPHOLIPIDS* H. K. GARDNER 1 , C. S. HTJBER, 1 C. T. BOTJRLAND1 AND M. C. SMITH, JR. 2 (Received for publication January 8, 1972)
ABSTRACT Two unknown compounds were detected in the fatty acid analysis of the phospholipid fraction of chicken muscle, using gas-liquid chromatography. Comparison of the unknown compounds to standards on polar and non-polar gas-liquid chromatographic columns and infrared spectra revealed that the compounds were hexadecanal and octadecanal. These aldehydes were assumed to have been derived from a plasmalogen. POULTRY SCIENCE 51: 1056-1058, 1972
Plasmalogens have been reported as constituents of various animal lipids (Rapport and Norton, 1962). Plasmalogens are lipids which release aldehydes under certain conditions. Long-chain aldehydes, corresponding to octadecanoic and hexadecanoic acid are bound as enol ethers. Mild hydrolysis and methylation yield dimethylacetals (DMA). Webster (1960) reported the presence of plasmalogens in heart and skeletal muscle of hens. Peng and Dugan (1965) reported a positive reaction of chicken muscle phos* This investigation was performed under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Contract Number NAS 9-8927.) 1 Life Sciences Division, Technology Incorporated, 17311 El Camino Real, Houston, TX 77058. * Preventive Medicine Division, Medical Research and Operations Directorate, NASA/Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, TX 77058.
pholipids with mercuric chloride, hence indicating the presence of an a, /3 unsaturated ether. The works of Neudoerffer and Lea (1967) indicated the presence of plasmalogen aldehydes in turkey muscle. However, the identification and quantitation of specific aldehydes in chicken muscle has not been reported in previous studies on lipid composition. The present communication relates the identification and quantitation of hexadecanal and octadecanal in phospholipids extracted from raw broiler muscle and from cooked muscle in the non-frozen, frozen and freeze-dried state. MATERIALS AND METHODS
Lipids extracted from the chicken muscle were fractionated into neutral and polar fractions via silicic acid column chromatography. Methyl esters of the
RESEARCH NOTES
EGG SHELL QUALITY OF SELECTED QUAIL LINES H. L. MARKS' AND W. M. BRITTON 2 United Stales Department 0} Agriculture and University of Georgia (Received for publication January 7, 1972)
ABSTRACT Egg shell parameters of two selected Coturnix lines and their respective controls were investigated. P line progeny were from quail which had undergone 20 generations of selection for high 4-week body weight on a 28 percent protein diet while progeny from line T were from quail similarity established using a 20 percent protein diet containing 0.2 percent thiouracil. Nonselected controls (C p and Ct) were included under each environment. Lines were subjected to normal selection environments from hatching to four weeks. Thirty female quail from each line were placed in individual cages at five weeks and fed a gamebird breeder diet with egg quality data collected at 9 and 12 weeks of age. Egg shell characteristics (shell thickness, shell weight, specific gravity and beta backscatter) of the four lines were found to be •similar. POULTRY SCIENCE 51: 1054-1056, 1972
Wolford and Tanaka (1970) reviewed weight in quail {Coturnix coturnix research regarding the possible relation- japonica) under two nutritional environship between thyroid activity and egg ments was described by Marks (1971). shell quality. Feeding desiccated thyroid Line P was established by selection on a to chickens resulted in increased egg shell 28 percent protein diet, while Line T was weight (Asmundson and Pinsky, 1935). similarly established using a 20 percent Specific gravity of eggs increased when protein diet containing 0.2 percent thyroprotein (iodinated casein) was fed to thiouracil. Progeny from Line T showed laying hens (Gutteridge and Pratt, 1946; no decline in body weight when exposed Godfrey, 1949; Gabuten and Shaffner, to a 28 percent protein diet containing 1954). Although conflicting results have thiouracil, while body weights of P line been reported regarding the influence of quail were markedly reduced. Thus, it thyroprotein on shell thickness, Hutt appears that Line T quail have developed and Go we (1948) observed a nonsignifi- an inherent ability to eliminate the cant effect of thyroprotein on egg shell growth depressing effect of thiouracil. strength. Studies by Howarth and Marks (unpublished) demonstrated definite alterations Thiouracil, an antithyroid compound, decreased egg shell thickness (Berg and in thyroid histology and L3i uptake in the Bearse, 1948) and specific gravity (Gabu- T line as compared to the P line and a ten and Shaffner, 1954) when fed to lay- nonselected control. The current study ing hens; however, other investigations was initiated to investigate egg shell pahave not shown a significant effect of rameters in Coturnix and to compare egg thiouracil on egg shell thickness (Berg shell characteristics of eggs from the T quail line with eggs from two other quail and Bearse, 1951). populations. Selection for high four-week body 1 Coordinator, Southern Regional Poultry Breeding Project, A.S.R., A.R.S., U.S.D.A., Athens, Georgia 30601. 2 Poultry Science Department, University of Georgia, Livestock-Poultry Bldg. Athens, Georgia 30601.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Eggs from 120 quail females were evaluated in this study. Thirty female quail from both the P and T quail lines (Marks, 1971) which had undergone 20 generations
1055
RESEARCH NOTES
of selection were randomly chosen and placed in individual laying cages. Thirty control females (C p and Ct) reared with each of the selected lines were caged in a similar manner. Thus, there were four separate populations of 30 female quail (P, Cp, T, Ct) available for egg shell evaluations. The T and Ct populations received a 20 percent protein diet containing 0.2 percent thiouracil from 0 to 4 weeks while the P and Cp populations received a 28 percent protein diet for the first four weeks. Starting at four weeks all populations received a standard gamebird breeder diet. Eggs were saved for a five-day period when the quail were nine weeks of age (Trial 1) and again for a similar period at 12 weeks of age (Trial 2). Egg weight, specific gravity, shell thickness and shell weight were determined on all eggs. Five eggs from each of the four populations were used daily for beta backscatter determinations. Beta backscatter was determined using a 90Sr source and a surface barrier detector (James and Retzer, 1967). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Presented in Table 1 are population means for egg production, egg weight, shell thickness, shell weight, specific gravity and beta backscatter measurements. There appeared to be little variation between populations with significant differences present only for egg weight and egg production (Table 1). Egg weights for all populations were significantly (P<.01) different from each other, however, the greatest variation was due to the selected lines (P and T) being approximately 1.5 to 2.0 g. heavier than eggs from the control population. This increase is likely associated with the larger body size of the selected lines (Marks, 1971). Egg production (mean daily eggs per 30 quail) appeared higher in the control
TABLE 1.—Means* for egg shell quality traits by population Population Trait
c,t Egg Production § Egg Weight (g.) Shell Thickness (mm. X100) Shell Weight (g.) Specific Gravity Beta Backscatterjl
26.4ab" 9.7d 26.4" .85" 1.068" 1052"
T 25.9ab 12.1" 26.7" .93" 1.066" 1069"
Cpt
P
27.7" 10.1°
24.5b 11.4b
26.7" .87" 1.068" 1049"
26.2" .90" 1.066" 1067"
* Each value is a mean of all eggs laid in two five-day trial periods. t Controls reared under T environment. t Controls reared under P environment. § Eggs per day/30 birds. II Counts X W . ** Population means in the same row with different superscripts differ significantly (P<.01).
(Cp) than in the P line. Analysis of six weeks' egg production of these populations, however, indicated no statistically significant differences between populations in egg production. These data suggest that quail eggs have thinner shells than chicken eggs and support similar findings by Mahmoud and Coleman (1967). Specific gravity values were comparable with those reported by Goodman (1965) while the shells were thinner than the values reported by Mahmoud and Coleman (1967) and Goodman (1965). Although possible changes may have incurred in thyroid activity of the T quail population, the results of this study indicate egg shell characteristics of this population do not differ from populations with normal thyroid activity. REFERENCES Asmundson, V. S., and P. Pinsky, 1935. The effect of the thyroid on the formation of the hen's eggs. Poultry Sci. 14: 99-104. Berg, L. R., and G. E. Bearse, 1948. The effect of iodinated casein and thiouracil on the performance of White Leghorn pullets. Poultry Sci. 27: 653. Berg, L. R., and G. E. Bearse, 1951. Effect of iodinated casein and thiouracil on the performance of laying birds. Poultry Sci. 30: 21-28. Gabuten, A. R., and C. S. Shaffner, 1954. A study of the physiological mechanisms affecting specific
1056
RESEARCH NOTES
gravity of chicken eggs. Poultry Sci. 33: 47-53. Godfrey, G. F., 1949. The effect of feeding thyroprotein on egg shell quality and hatchability. Poultry Sci. 28: 867-873. Goodman, B. L., 1965. Repeatability of egg quality traits in the Coturnix quail. Poultry Sci. 44:13381339. Gutteridge, H. S., and J. M. Pratt, 1946. The effect of vitamin D2 and D 3 in fish oils and of iodocasein on shell quality. Poultry Sci. 25: 89-91. Hutt, F. B., and R. S. Gowe, 1948. On the supposed effect of iodocasein upon egg production. Poultry Sci. 27: 286-293.
James, P. E., and H. J. Retzer, 1967. Measuring egg shell strength by beta backscatter technique. Poultry Sci. 46: 1200-1203. Mahmound, T. H., and T. H. Coleman, 1967. A comparison of the proportion of component parts of Bobwhite and Coturnix eggs. Poultry Sci. 46: 1168-1171. Marks, H. L., 1971. Evaluation of growth selected quail lines under different nutritional environments. Poultry Sci. 50: 931-937. Wolford, J. H., and K. Tanaka, 1970. Factors influencing egg shell quality. A review. World's Poultry Sci. J. 26: 763-780.
IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTITATION OF HEXADECANAL AND OCTADECANAL IN BROILER MUSCLE PHOSPHOLIPIDS* H. K. GARDNER 1 , C. S. HTJBER, 1 C. T. BOTJRLAND1 AND M. C. SMITH, JR. 2 (Received for publication January 8, 1972)
ABSTRACT Two unknown compounds were detected in the fatty acid analysis of the phospholipid fraction of chicken muscle, using gas-liquid chromatography. Comparison of the unknown compounds to standards on polar and non-polar gas-liquid chromatographic columns and infrared spectra revealed that the compounds were hexadecanal and octadecanal. These aldehydes were assumed to have been derived from a plasmalogen. POULTRY SCIENCE 51: 1056-1058, 1972
Plasmalogens have been reported as constituents of various animal lipids (Rapport and Norton, 1962). Plasmalogens are lipids which release aldehydes under certain conditions. Long-chain aldehydes, corresponding to octadecanoic and hexadecanoic acid are bound as enol ethers. Mild hydrolysis and methylation yield dimethylacetals (DMA). Webster (1960) reported the presence of plasmalogens in heart and skeletal muscle of hens. Peng and Dugan (1965) reported a positive reaction of chicken muscle phos* This investigation was performed under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Contract Number NAS 9-8927.) 1 Life Sciences Division, Technology Incorporated, 17311 El Camino Real, Houston, TX 77058. * Preventive Medicine Division, Medical Research and Operations Directorate, NASA/Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, TX 77058.
pholipids with mercuric chloride, hence indicating the presence of an a, /3 unsaturated ether. The works of Neudoerffer and Lea (1967) indicated the presence of plasmalogen aldehydes in turkey muscle. However, the identification and quantitation of specific aldehydes in chicken muscle has not been reported in previous studies on lipid composition. The present communication relates the identification and quantitation of hexadecanal and octadecanal in phospholipids extracted from raw broiler muscle and from cooked muscle in the non-frozen, frozen and freeze-dried state. MATERIALS AND METHODS
Lipids extracted from the chicken muscle were fractionated into neutral and polar fractions via silicic acid column chromatography. Methyl esters of the