Reducing fat deposition in poultry by immunising against adipocyte membranes: III. Attempts in using eggs for transmission and development of antibodies

A. S. Zainur, B. I. Shukran and M. Masnizar

Abstract

The transmission and development of antibodies against adipocyte membranes in eggs were studied. This process overcomes the problem of delivery of the antigen and would be useful for the production of lean chickens. Laying chickens were used for both passive immunisation using turkey antibodies against adipocyte membranes and active immunisation with modified broiler adipocyte membranes.Egg production from immunised chicken was decreased in the early stages after passive immunisation only, but generally there was no significant difference between immunised and control chicken for both passive and active immunisations. There was no build up of antibodies in the eggs in the passive immunisation, even though the concentrations in the blood were high,. This was probably because the antibodies did not have enough time to enter the eggs. On the contrary, the active immunisation showed specific antibody build up at the second and third immunisations. The concentrations of the antibodies in active immunisation were also higher as compared to passive immunisation. Therefore, eggs from active immunisation could be easily selected for breeding purposes at the peak antibody production. There were also no significant differences (p >0.05) between treatments in terms of weights of carcasses and various organs of layer hens. This is an indication that immunisations caused no side effects on the laying hens.

Full Text (435 KB)