2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Elucidation of the mechanism of a new fossil fuel-independent thermal stress reduction process

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	18K19271
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Review Section	Medium-sized Section 42:Veterinary medical science, animal science, and related fields
Research Institution	Kyushu University
Principal Investigator	SurChowdhury Vishwajit 九州大学, 基幹教育院, 准教授 (00535453)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	田代康介九州大学, 農学研究院, 准教授 (00192170) 豊後貴嗣広島大学, 統合生命科学研究科(生), 教授 (40325361)
Project Period (FY)	2018-06-29 – 2021-03-31
Keywords	ニワトリ / 耐暑性 / ロイシン / シトルリン / ストレス軽減
Outline of Final Research Achievements	In this project, we have found that L-leucine (L-Leu) and L-citrulline (L-Cit) have novel function to survive chickens to heat stress. L-Leu was injected in fertile broiler eggs and the obtained broilers were thermotolerant and their body weight gain was higher than the control group. On the other hand, not only synthetic L-Cit but also L-Cit enriched probiotics and watermelon rind juice, which is a natural source of L-Cit, efficiently reduced body temperature. In these studies, we have also explored the metabolic changes and possible mechanisms of L-Leu and L-Cit induced thermoregulation. L-Leu caused lipid metabolism imprinting until the neonatal period of broiler chicks. In terms of amino acid metabolism, among different changes brain GABA concentration was higher in L-Leu treated heat-exposed broilers compared to the control. L-Cit caused to change metabolic hormones and amino acid metabolism.
Free Research Field	家畜生理学
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	深刻化する地球温暖化によって食料生産は危機に直面している。本調査結果は、ニワトリの耐暑性向上によって持続可能な食糧生産の実現に寄与するものと考えられる。調査対象のアミノ酸は、身近なものであることから、環境・人体への悪影響なく、シトルリンのように農副産物に多く含有するものを利用することで循環型の持続可能な食料生産につながるものと考えられる。また、これらアミノ酸による暑熱ストレス軽減効果の他家畜への利用、さらにはヒトへの適用なども含めてその端緒となりうるものである。