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A series of experiments was conducted to examine protein and energy utilization in growing and breeding turkeys, and to investigate the impact of body weight restriction on subsequent reproductive performance. In the first experiment, dietary self-selection of energy and protein and feed restriction were studied in growing turkeys. Body weight of males and females was significantly reduced by feed restriction. Protein efficiency was significantly lower in self-selecting males and females. Feed restriction significantly reduced the carcass yield of males, but not females. / Ph. D.

The immunopharmacologic and immunopathologic mechanisms through which hemorrhagic enteritis virus (HEV) induces intestinal lesion formation associated with clinical infection is unknown. These studies were designed to 1) determine differences in age susceptibility to HEV infection and parameters which best indicate severity of virus infection, 2) determine the involvement of specific inflammatory mediators in the formation of intestinal lesions by using anti-inflammatory compounds which directly or indirectly inhibit either the synthesis or the mechanism of action of the mediators, and 3) determine the involvement of immunologically-active cells—basophils, connective tissue mast cells (CTMC), and mucosal mast cells (MMC)—in the formation of HEV-induced lesions. Seven-week-old poults were more susceptible to viral infection when compared to four-week-old poults as judged by HEV antigen presence within the spleen, spleen weight/body weight ratio, heterophil to lymphocyte ratio, and changes in serum lipid and albumin concentration. Of those anti-inflammatory agents used, corticosterone, vitamin E, and indomethacin significantly reduced lesion scores. FPL 55712 and FPL 57231, specific leukotriene receptor blockers, markedly increased lesion scores. Inoculated birds had significantly higher MMC counts than uninoculated birds (120±64 vs. 55±39, respectively). CTMC and basophils were unaffected by viral challenge. In addition to the increase of MMC within the lamina propria of the duodenal villus, there was also a concurrent increase in vascular permeability within the lamina propria which was demonstrated using colloidal carbon and vascular permeability within the lamina propria which was demonstrated using colloidal carbon and ferritin as vascular markers. The results of these studies indicate that vasoactive mediators, such as histamine and the eicosanoids, play a role in lesion formation associated with HEV infection, and that a source of at least some of these compounds appears to be the MMC within the lamina propria of the duodenal villus. Finally, some of the other clinical manifestations of HEV infection, such as decreased serum lipid, protein, and albumin, may be a result of increased vascular permeability which results from vasoactive mediator release and action on the vessels of the lamina propria of the intestinal villus. / Ph. D.

Five experimental groups of male weanling albino rats were fed adequate diets containing 12 percent protein for a period of 28 days. Peanut flour and corn gluten meal proteins were combined with turkey protein in the ratio of 9 percent to 3 percent, respectively. The supplementary value of turkey protein to intact natural proteins was determined by comparing the growth rates from the different groups of animals. Best growth, 92.3 gms., was obtained when feeding an adequate diet containing 12 percent turkey meat protein. Corn gluten meal, when fed at the 12 percent level,, produced the poorest weight gain, 17.4 gms. Supplementation of the corn gluten meal with turkey meat increased the growth approximately 100 percent to 33.8 gms. Gain in weight obtained when feeding 12 percent peanut flour, 88.2 gms., was close to that obtained for the turkey protein. Supplementation of the peanut flour with turkey protein produced a decrease in growth of the animals. The PER values found were 3.0 for turkey meat, 0.9 for corn gluten meal, 2. 9 for peanut flour, 1.5 for corn gluten supplemented with turkey meat, and 2.1 for peanut flour supplemented with turkey meat. / Master of Science

no abstract provided by author / Master of Science

This study evaluated mating behaviors of turkeys, the effects of these behaviors on reproduction, the effects of the presence or absence of the opposite sex on reproduction and changes in serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and prolactin concentrations due to natural mating or artificial insemination. Male body conformation did not significantly affect male mating efficiency, whereas male sex drive was correlated with efficiency. Female sex drive, while positively correlated with the number of attempted matings, decreased following an incomplete or completed mating. Neither semen quality nor egg production was affected by degree of sexual activity. In males used for artificial insemination, the presence or absence of females did not affect any semen quality measurement. Egg production of artificially inseminated females was positively affected by male presence during the last third of the laying period, while fertility and hatchability of fertile eggs was not. Very few differences in serum LH or prolactin concentrations were observed following natural mating behaviors or artificial insemination. Serum LH and prolactin concentrations did not change following any male mating behavior. For mated females, a significant decrease in LH was observed in non-receptive hens following introduction of the male into the breeding pen. No changes in prolactin were observed following any female mating behavior. Although no differences were observed in LH concentration in males following semen collection, prolactin significantly increased in males maintained in the presence of females following this procedure. No changes in serum LH or prolactin concentrations were observed following artificial insemination of females. / Master of Science

Studies were performed to determine the effect of color modification procedures on the microbial characteristics of turkey thigh meat. Turkey thighs were flaked and then color modified successively with three sodium phosphate buffers (pH 5.8, 7.4, and 8.0). At selected time intervals, flaked unwashed turkey (FUT; control) and color-modified turkey (CMT) stored at 3°C were analyzed for aerobic, psychrotrophic, and coliform bacterial counts. Aerobic and psychrotrophic numbers also were estimated in raw tissues held at -20°C. Cooked FUT and CMT were inoculated with two strain composites of either Salmonella or Listeria monocytogenes and held at 4 and 20OC. Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella typhimurium, Q. monocytogenes Scott A, and a Q. monocytogenes meat isolate were organisms used in the inoculation studies. Aerobic and psychrotrophic counts were not different (p >0.05) at any sampling interval when numbers in raw EUT were compared to those in raw CMT. Coliform counts in raw FUT did not differ from those in raw CMT (p >0.05) after l day at 3°C. In inoculation studies, numbers of either pathogen generally did not differ (p >0.05) I between cooked FUT and CMT at selected sampling intervals. Salmonella counts declined gradually in cooked samples held at 4°C. By day 3, Salmonella levels increased more than 6 logs in tissues held at 20°C. L. monocytogenes counts increased approximately 5 logs in cooked FUT and CMT held at 4°C for 14 days. Numbers increased more than 5 logs in samples stored at 20°C for 48 hr. Although a significant (p <0.05) factor in some studies, color modification was not considered to have a major effect on microbial growth in altered thigh. / Master of Science

In this experiment where identically the same ration was fed except for feed particle size, the poults fed the pellets, with only one exception, consumed the most feed and water and made the greatest growth per gram of feed consumed, and the poults fed the medium-fine or regular ground mash consumed next to the most feed and water and made the second best growth per gram of feed consumed. / Master of Science

M.S.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a disease of the myocardium, causes morbidity and premature death in humans and other domestic animals including turkeys. Though DCM results from many different factors including those that are unknown or idiopathic, genetic factor is a major cause of idiopathic DCM. In this study, I assessed the molecular basis of toxin-induced DCM in turkeys by evaluating the association and effect of mutations in candidate genes in the nucleus and mitochondria on the incidence and severity of this disease. Echocardiographic measurements at 3 weeks of age showed that birds on furazolidone-containing diet exhibited a significant DCM phenotype (increased left ventricular end diastolic dimension and left ventricular end systolic dimension) with a marked decrease in the left ventricular shortening fraction. Pathological phenotype confirmed the dilated heart with extended cell necrosis. Two mutations, both in NADH dehydrogenase genes, were found to be associated with DCM. Real-time RT-PCR quantification indicated that mRNA expression of alpha cardiac actin gene (ACTC) were significantly different between control and treatment birds. While ACTC expression increased, though moderately, in control birds from week 1 to 3, it decreased significantly in treatment birds. These findings suggest that the mitochondrial DNA variation and ACTC expression may be associated with the turkey's response to toxin. Therefore, further research is needed to investigate the molecular mechanism of toxin-induced DCM in the turkey. / Master of Science