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The yellow-feather broiler is a popular poultry breed in Asia, particularly in China. In this study, we performed RNA-seq analysis to identify differentially expressed genes (deGs) in the liver of yellow-feather broilers that had been subjected to acute heat stress treatment (38±1°C for 4 h, recovery 2 h) and determine the response of the liver to high temperature and its effects on yellow-feather broiler physiology. We found that the cloacal temperature and respiratory rate of yellow-feather chickens were significantly increased immediately after the initiation of acute heat stress (38°c) treatment. And after recovery for 2 h, there was no difference in the cloacal temperature and respiratory rate between the acute heat stress and control groups. A total of 834 DEGs were observed in response to heat stress by RNA-seq. Almost half of the DEGs were involved in the lipid and energy metabolism, including fatty acid metabolism (ACOX1, ACACA, ACSL1, ACSL6, ACAA1, ACAA2, HADHB, and FASN) and propanoate metabolism (ACSS2, ALDH2, ACACA, DLAT, ALDH7A1, MDH1, ME1, ABAT, SUCLG2, and ACSS3). Our findings provide the context for RNA-seq studies in the liver of yellow-feather chickens and suggest that the liver of yellow-feather broilers has the lipid and energy metabolism physiological mechanisms activated in response to heat stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The yellow-feather broiler is a popular poultry breed in Asia, particularly in China. In this study, we performed RNA-seq analysis to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the heart of yellow-feather broilers that had been subjected to heat stress treatment (38 ± 1 °C for 8 h, over 7 d) and determine the response of the heart to high temperature and its effects on yellow-feather broiler physiology. We found that body weight (BW) of the heat stress treatment group (BW28 = 354.8 ± 34.8 g) was significantly decreased (p =.033) compared with that of the control group (BW28 = 384.8 ± 58.9 g). However, there was no significant reduction in the heart relative weight (HRW) (p =.538). A total of 37 DEGs related to energy metabolism responded to heat stress in the heart of yellow-feather broiler. The results of KEGG pathways analysis indicated that these genes are involved in oxidative phosphorylation (KO: 00190), cardiac muscle contraction (KO: 04260) and carbon metabolism (KO: 01200). Analysis of the cardiac transcriptome of yellow-feather broilers subjected to heat stress indicated that the heart of these birds has specific physiological mechanisms for regulating body growth in response to high-temperature environments. Yellow-feather broilers, a popular poultry breed in Asia, were used to determine how the heart responds to heat stress. A total of 37 genes in the heart of yellow-feather broilers showed differential expression in response to heat stress. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) are associated with oxidative phosphorylation, cardiac muscle contraction and carbon metabolism pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]