Research Note: Quantifying corticosterone in turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) feathers using ELISA.

Leishman, Emily M.; Freeman, Nikole E.; Newman, Amy E. M.; van Staaveren, Nienke; Wood, Benjamin J.; Harlander-Matauschek, Alexandra; Baes, Christine F. (2020). Research Note: Quantifying corticosterone in turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) feathers using ELISA. Poultry science, 99(11), pp. 5261-5264. Elsevier 10.1016/j.psj.2020.06.075

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The measurement of corticosterone in feathers is an appealing tool for assessing glucocorticoids in wild and domestic bird species. Feather corticosterone measurements can be performed noninvasively and can provide a means for comparing glucocorticoid secretion between individual birds; thus, such measurements can be used to assess the welfare of domestic poultry. The focus of this study was to assess the validity of detecting corticosterone in turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) feathers using an ELISA and investigate differences between genetic lines. Primary feather 9 was obtained at a processing plant from 123 individuals from 3 different purebred turkey lines (line A [N = 46], line B [N = 24], and line C [N = 53]). Assay validation tests were performed using a commercially available ELISA kit (Cayman Chemicals, Cedarlane Labs, Canada). Indicators of accuracy, recovery, precision, and sensitivity were sufficient. Significant differences in feather corticosterone concentration between the 3 lines were observed. Line C had significantly higher feather corticosterone than line A (P < 0.0001) and line B (P = 0.036). These results indicate that the quantification of feather corticosterone using an ELISA is a valid method for assessing glucocorticoid levels in turkeys. This is the first report of differences in feather corticosterone between different purebred turkey lines. Differences observed between purebred lines provide an intriguing basis for further investigation into the genetic parameters of glucocorticoid levels in turkeys.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH) > Institute of Genetics
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH)

UniBE Contributor:

Baes, Christine Francoise

Subjects:

500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology
500 Science > 590 Animals (Zoology)
600 Technology > 630 Agriculture

ISSN:

0032-5791

Publisher:

Elsevier

Language:

English

Submitter:

Christine Francoise Baes

Date Deposited:

11 Nov 2020 10:21

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:41

Publisher DOI:

10.1016/j.psj.2020.06.075

PubMed ID:

33142441

Uncontrolled Keywords:

feather corticosterone genetics glucocorticoid turkey welfare

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.147820

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/147820

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