Comparative Analysis of the Temporal Impacts of Corticosterone and Simulated Production Stressors on the Metabolome of Broiler Chickens

The impact of physiological stress on the metabolome of breast muscle, liver, kidney, and hippocampus was investigated in Ross 308 broiler chicks. Simulated on-farm stressors were compared to a corticosterone model of physiological stress. The three different stressors investigated were: (i) corticosterone at a dose of 15 mg/kg of feed; (ii) heat treatment of 36 °C and 40% RH for 8 h per day; and (iii) isolation for 1 h per day. Liver, kidney, breast muscle, and hippocampus samples were taken after 2, 4, 6, and 8 days of stress treatment, and subjected to untargeted (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy-based metabolomic analysis to provide insights on how stress can modulate metabolite profiles and biomarker discovery. Many of the metabolites that were significantly altered in tissues were amino acids, with glycine and alanine showing promise as candidate biomarkers of stress. Corticosterone was shown to significantly alter alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism in the liver, breast, and hippocampus, while isolation altered the same pathways, but only in the kidneys and hippocampus. Isolation also significantly altered the glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism pathway in the liver and breast, while the same pathway was significantly altered by heat in the liver, kidneys, and hippocampus. The study’s findings support corticosterone as a model of stress. Moreover, a number of potential metabolite biomarkers were identified in chicken tissues, which may allow producers to effectively monitor stress and to objectively develop and evaluate on-farm mitigations, including practices that reduce stress and enhance bird health.