Effects of Atmospheric Ammonia on Skeletal Muscle Growth in Broilers

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Ammonia is the most prominent irritant gas emitted by poultry houses, mainly from animal wastes produced by microbial activity. If the atmospheric ammonia concentration cannot be controlled in a low range, it will seriously affect poultry production and health. In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the adverse effects of atmospheric ammonia concentration on poultry. However, there are few studies on the effect of ammonia on skeletal muscle growth. This study aims to explore the effect of ammonia on skeletal muscle growth in broilers. ABSTRACT: Ammonia, one of the most polluted gases in poultry houses, has always been an urgent problem to solve. Exposure to ammonia can threaten the respiratory tract, induce inflammation, and decrease growth performance. To date, there are few studies investigating the effects of ammonia on skeletal muscle growth. In this experiment, a total of 144 broilers were randomly divided into two groups, and 0 ppm and 35 ppm atmospheric ammonia were administered in the chambers. The trial lasted for 21 days. The breast muscle, thigh muscle, dressed weight, and serum biochemical indexes were measured. The skeletal muscle fibre morphology was observed using light microscopy, and the expressions of genes associated with skeletal muscle development and myosin heavy chain genes were assessed. After 7 days of ammonia exposure, the broilers’ weight in the ammonia group decreased. On the 21st day of the experiment, in the ammonia group, the breast muscle weight, thigh muscle weight, and dressed weight decreased, the blood urea nitrogen content increased, skeletal muscle fibre diameter shortened, the expression of myostatin increased, and the expression of myosin heavy chain-FWM and myosin heavy chain-FRM decreased significantly. This article suggests that 35 ppm atmospheric ammonia seriously affects the skeletal muscle gain rate of broilers, and the myostatin pathway could be a potential regulation of the growth rate of muscle fibre under ammonia exposure.