Identification of genes related to growth and amino acid metabolism from the transcriptome profile of the liver of growing laying hens

The growing period is a critical period for the growth and development of hens and affects their production performance during the laying period. During the early stage of growing, bone and muscle growth is rapid, making it necessary to provide sufficient amino acids (AA) to support the growth and development of laying hens. In this experiment, RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) was applied to compare the liver tissues from 6- to 12-wk-old growing laying hens to identify candidate genes related to growth and AA transport and metabolism. In the liver tissues, 596 differentially expressed genes (DEG) were identified, of which 424 genes were up-regulated and 172 were down-regulated. Through enrichment analysis and DEGs analysis, some DEGs and pathways related to AA transport and metabolism were identified. Additionally, there were significantly increased activities in the liver of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT). Meanwhile, the level of serum insulin-like growth factor binding protein-5 (IGFBP-5) significantly elevated, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels significantly reduced at 12 wk compared to 6 wk. The AA contents in the breast muscle were not significantly altered, while the levels of the free AA in the serum underwent significant changes. This study discovered that the transport and metabolism of AAs in growing laying hens at different ages changed, which influenced the growth and development of growing laying hens. This contributes to future research on the mechanisms of growth and AA metabolism during the growing period of laying hens.