To explore the relationship between the heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) gene and intramuscular fat (IMF), a polymorphism of the second exon of the H-FABP gene was investigated in 60 Three-yellow chickens (TYCs) and 60 Hetian-black chickens (HTBCs). The IMF contents of the cardiac, chest and leg muscles in HTBC were increased compared with TYC. Both TYC and HTBC populations exhibited Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) according to the χ2 test. Three variations of the two birds were detected, namely, G939A, G982A and C1014T. HTBCs with the TT genotypes exhibit increased IMF content in the chest muscles compared with the TC genotype. Thus, the G982A site could be considered a genetic marker for selecting increased IMF content in the chest muscles of HTBC. The correlation coefficients revealed that H-FABP mRNA expression was negatively correlated with the IMF content in the cardiac, chest and leg muscles of HTBC and in the cardiac and chest muscles of TYC. The relative mRNA expression of H-FABP was reduced in the cardiac and leg muscles of HTBC compared with TYC, but this difference was not observed at the protein level, as assessed by Western blot analysis. These findings offer essential data that can be useful in the breeding program of HTBC and future research exploring the role of H-FABP in IMF deposition and regulation in chickens.

This study investigated the effects of tea tree oil (TTO) protective effects against diquat (DIQ)-induced toxicity in chickens. 240 one-day-old Hy-Line W-36 laying chickens randomly allocated to one of two treatment groups: 1) chickens fed a basal diet and 2) chickens fed a diet supplemented with 200 ppm TTO. At 20 days of age, half of the chickens in each group were intraperitoneally injected with DIQ (20 mg per kg body weight), whereas the other half were injected with an equivalent amount of PBS. DIQ significantly reduced serum total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) (p < 0.001) and suppressed the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) (p < 0.001), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) (p < 0.01), and catalase (CAT) (p < 0.01) while elevating malondialdehyde (MDA) levels (p < 0.001). Gut microbiota analysis revealed decreased microbial diversity and dysbiosis following DIQ exposure. Histologically, DIQ reduced villus height (p < 0.01) and villus height to crypt depth ratios (p < 0.01) while increasing crypt depth (p < 0.05) in duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. Tight junction proteins (Claudin-1, Occludin, and ZO-1) were significantly downregulated by DIQ (p < 0.01). Critically, TTO supplementation counteracted these effects by restoring antioxidant enzyme activities (p < 0.01), reducing MDA levels (p < 0.001), modulating gut microbiota dysbiosis, normalizing intestinal morphology, and upregulating tight junction expression (p < 0.05). These results demonstrate TTO mitigates DIQ-induced oxidative stress, modulates gut microbiota equilibrium, and enhances intestinal barrier integrity, supporting its application as a natural feed additive in poultry production.

Humans are infected postnatal mainly through ingestion of tissue cysts from undercooked meat or oocysts from the environment contaminated by infected mammals’ feces (^{Dubey et al., 2004}). In addition, infection with T. gondii is usually present either asymptomatic or with mild flu-like symptoms. Furthermore, if the gravida is infected during pregnancy, toxoplasmosis can lead to abortion or congenital malformations affecting the brain, eyes, or other fetal organs (^{Halos et al., 2010}). The “five northwestern provinces” is used to name the Northwest Region, originated by the six administrative regions established from 1949-1953, including Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province, Gansu Province, Shanxi Province and Ningxia Province. There are more Islam believers in the five provinces than any other provinces in China, therefore, consumptions of lamb are more popular. However, few studies on the prevalence of T.gondii in goat have been conducted in these provinces since 1979 according to the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and PubMed. The current study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in goats in this region to estimate the risk factors associated with exposure to the pathogen.