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Germination of millets (sprouts) increases activity of enzymes in grains and availability of amino acid, vitamins and trace minerals to chicken. These nutrients are required for growth, immunity and anti-oxidant system in biological system. An experiment was conducted to study the effects of feeding sprouts of korra, ragi, bajra and sorghum at 5% of expected feed intake from day one to 42 d of age. Total phenolic content among the millets was higher in sprouts of bajra followed by ragi, korra and sorghum in order (148, 110, 95 and 90 mg GAE/g, respectively). A group without feeding sprouts was kept as control. Maize-soybean meal diets having recommended concentrations of nutrients for starter (1–21 d) and finisher (22–42 d of age) phases were fed to all the groups. Maximum and minimum temperature and humidity during the 6-week experimental period were 32.17 and 25.1°C and 60.8 and 33.4%, respectively. Body weight gain and feed efficiency at 42 d of age, slaughter variables (ready to cook yield, relative weights of liver, breast, abdominal fat) and immune responses (antibody titres against ND vaccine, CMI response to PHA-P) were not affected due to feeding of sprouted grains. Lipid peroxidation and activities of glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and super oxide dismutase were significantly less in broilers fed sprouted millets compared to the control group. Based on the results, it is concluded that oxidative stress could be reduced in broiler chicks reared during summer season in open sided poultry house without affecting performance, carcass variables and immune responses.

Two experiments were conducted to study the possibility of utilizing enzyme incubated rape seed meal (RSM) in broiler diets (1 to 42 day of age). The RSM was anaerobically incubated with non-starch polysaccharide hydrolyzing enzymes (cellulase 1,500 IU, xylanase 250 IU and pectinase 125 IU per kilogram) for 300 minutes (processed RSM1, experiments 1 and 2) and 600 min (processed RSM2, experiment 2). Processed and raw RSM contained similar concentration of glucosinolates (275 and 288 mM/g, respectively). During the experiment 1, maize-soybean meal control diet (CD), two diets with raw (RRSM) and processed RSM (PRSM1) at 100 g/kg each were prepared. In the experiment 2, RRSM, PRSM1 and PRSM2 were included each at 3 levels (50, 100 and 150 g/kg). Each diet was offered to 9 replicates having 5 birds in each. Body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), feed efficiency (FE), ready to cook (RTC) yield and breast weight were depressed by incorporating RRSM (experiments 1, 2). As a result of this study, PRSM1 significantly reduced FI, maintained BWG and improved FE compared to the control group. BWG was not affected by including PRSM1 and PRSM2 up to 100 and 50 g/kg, respectively but depressed at higher inclusion levels compared to the CD. The BWG in processed RSM fed groups were higher than the respective level of raw RSM fed groups. Retention of energy and protein were improved by incorporating processed RSM compared to those fed RRSM. Based on the data, it is concluded that enzyme (cellulase, xylanase and pectinase) incubated RSM for 300 minutes improved the nutritional value, which can be incorporated up to 100 g/kg in broiler diet without affecting performance and slaughter variables, which can be attributed to the improved retention of energy and protein in RSM based diets.

The myb oncogene encodes a DNA-binding transcriptional transactivator which can become a hematopoietic cell-transforming protein following the deletion of amino acid sequences from either its amino or carboxyl terminus. Although a number of hematopoietic tumors express terminally deleted variants of Myb, the involvement of truncated Myb in nonhematopoietic tumors has not been adequately investigated. To assess the full spectrum of Myb's oncogenic capability, a replication-competent retroviral vector (RCAMV) was used to express a full-length protein (C-Myb), an amino-terminally truncated protein (VCC- or delta N-Myb), a carboxyl-terminally truncated protein (T-Myb), or a doubly truncated protein (VCT-Myb) in vivo. These viruses were injected intravenously into 10-day chicken embryos, and the infected chicks were monitored for tumors. Approximately 4 to 8 weeks after hatching, the majority (30 of 39 [77%]) of animals infected with the T-Myb retrovirus (without 214 carboxyl-terminal residues) developed nodular muscle tumors which could be identified by both morphologic and immunohistochemical criteria as fibrosarcomas. Identically appearing tumors could also be found in the kidney of some T-Myb-infected animals. The T-Myb-induced fibrosarcomas expressed the appropriately sized T-Myb protein, contained an unaltered proviral T-myb gene, and showed clonal proviral integration sites. In comparison, no sarcomas were observed in any of the animals infected with the amino-terminally truncated (VCC- and delta N-Myb) or doubly truncated (VCT-Myb) viruses. A loss of carboxyl-terminal but not amino-terminal sequences can thus convert Myb into a potent in vivo transforming protein for nonhematopoietic mesenchymal cells. In comparison, a truncation of either or both ends of the protein can activate Myb into a hematopoietic cell-transforming protein.