in and increase stress resistance in turkey poults. 2019, Japan Poultry Science Association.Excessive fat deposition adversely affects poultry production. In this study, we investigated growth, fat deposition, and hepatic mRNA expression of 13 lipid metabolism-related genes in three unique breeds of meat-type chickens with distinct breed origins and genetic relationships. One was Nagoya (NAG), a native Japanese breed, whereas the others were White Plymouth Rock (WPR) and White Cornish (WC), which have been used worldwide as the parental breeds of common broiler chickens. NAG chickens were phenotypically characterized by slow growth, lean body fat, and high gizzard and liver weights. In contrast, both WC and WPR chickens were characterized by rapid growth but high percentage of subcutaneous fat and abdominal fat weight, resulting from high feed intake. Among the three breeds, WC had the highest percentage of pectoral muscle weight, whereas WPR was the most obese. Among lipid metabolism-related genes, the expression of PPARA, PPARG, and CD36 was mostly associated with obesity. These results provide basic information for quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis related to growth and fat traits in an F2 population of the lean NAG breed and the obese WPR breed of meat-type chickens in future. 2019, Japan Poultry Science Association.The Miyazaki Jitokko chicken, native to the Miyazaki Prefecture in southern Kyushu Island, Japan, is the product of a three-way cross involving the Jitokko, White Plymouth Rock, and Kyushu Rhode breeds. In the present study, associations between a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; AB604331, g.420 C>A) of the chicken cholecystokinin type A receptor gene and growth traits in Miyazaki Jitokko chickens were investigated. Unrelated male birds (n=120) that had hatched on the same day were raised in the same chicken house and fed the same diet ad libitum from day 0 to 17 weeks of age. Body weight was recorded at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 weeks and the average daily gain of each interval was calculated from the body weight data. SNP genotyping of each bird was performed using the mismatch amplification mutation assay. The associations between the SNP and growth traits were examined using the Thesias program. The genotype frequencies of AA, AC, and CC were 0.525, 0.383, and 0.092, respectively. AA birds were significantly heavier than CC birds from 4 to 17 weeks of age. In the estimated effect of alleles, body weight from 1 to 17 weeks of age in birds with the A allele was greater than that in birds with the C allele. During the rearing period, the effect of the A allele on average daily gain in the first half was greater than that in the second half. We conclude that the g.420 C>A SNP can be used as a selection marker for the parent stock lines of the Miyazaki Jitokko chickens to increase their growth performance. 2019, Japan Poultry Science Association.Amakusa Daioh cross chickens are F1 hybrids of restored Amakusa Daioh sires and Kyushu Rhode dams. In the present study, the association between a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; AB604331, g.420 C>A) in the cholecystokinin type A receptor gene and growth traits in Amakusa Daioh cross chicken were investigated. We used 72 male and 72 female birds that had hatched on the same day, were raised in the same chicken house, and were fed the same diet ad libitum from day 0 to 17 weeks (wks) of age. Body weight was recorded at weekly intervals and average daily gain of each week interval was calculated from body weight data. Birds were sacrificed at 17 wks and carcass traits were recorded. SNP genotyping was carried out using the mismatch amplification mutation assay. Associations between the SNP and growth traits were analyzed by a generalized linear model. Body weight from 6 to 17 wks was higher in birds with the A allele than in birds with the C allele, although significant differences in average daily gain traits between birds with A and C alleles were not detected during most of the duration of the experiment. Carcass data showed that birds with the A allele had heavier wings and a smaller proportion of the gizzard than those with the C allele. The g.420 C>A SNP will be useful as a selection marker for parent stock lines to increase the growth performance of Amakusa Daioh cross chickens. 2019, Japan Poultry Science Association.The Japanese quail expresses polymorphism in plumage colors, including black, yellow, white, wild-type (maroon), and various intermediate colors through hybridization of quail with different plumage colors. The expression levels of MC1R and ASIP play important roles in the regulation of plumage colors in birds. In this study, the eukaryotic expression vector of pcDNA 3.1 + was used to analyze the effects of forced expression of MC1R and ASIP on the plumage colors of Japanese quail embryos. The constructed eukaryotic expression vectors of pcDNA 3.1 (+)-MC1R and pcDNA 3.1(+)-ASIP were transfected into wild-type Japanese quail embryos by Lipofectamine™ 2000 liposome at 6 days of incubation. After 3 days, the embryos were collected to analyze the plumage colors and the expression levels of MC1R, ASIP, and DCT genes in skin tissue. Forced expression of the MC1R gene by transfection of the pcDNA 3.1(+)-MC1R vector led to hyperpigmentation (similar to black plumage), whereas forced expression of the ASIP gene by transfection of the pcDNA 3.1(+)-ASIP vector led to hypopigmentation (similar to white plumage) in wild-type quail embryos. Two kinds of ASIP alternative splicing (ASIP1 and ASIP2) were found in Japanese quail, which did not have a significant effect on the plumage color or the main motifs of the ASIP protein. This study indicated that the black plumage color may be caused by increased production of MC1R and the white plumage color may be caused by increased production of ASIP in Japanese quail. 2019, Japan Poultry Science Association.In this paper, we consider the ethics of poultry production from different perspectives, applying both intrinsic and extrinsic ethical principles. We consider the perspectives of the animal, farmer, consumer, breeders, researchers, and policy-makers. Intrinsic ethical factors include feeling pain and experiencing suffering, self-awareness and consciousness, future planning ability, the value of being alive, and individual love of life. Extrinsic factors include human necessity and/or desire, human sensitivity to animal suffering, fear of causing brutality in humans, disapproval of other animals, and the religious status of animals. selleck chemicals llc The development of systems to create more ethical poultry production systems is a work in progress, and in the evolution of ethical standards, moral progress and what can be described as more ethical poultry are evident. 2019, Japan Poultry Science Association.