Xixi Chen

INTRODUCTIONMet is the first-limiting amino acid in corn-soybean based diet of poultry and plays an important role for growth, and egg production, but excess Met supplementation can be toxic for poultry. Besides carcass yield and quality, feather growth is especially important economic trait for meat duck production. Optimum feathering is considered crucial in modern broiler production due to dema ...

INTRODUCTIONStudies from humans and rats have showed the intestinal epithelium represents the largest area of exposure of the body to external pathogens and toxins (Abreu, 2010; Slack et al., 2012). The secretory immune system, including secretory IgA (sIgA) and the mucus, serves as the first line of defense to limit epithelial contact with pathogenic microorganisms and other potentially dangerous ...

INTRODUCTIONAs a fungal secondary metabolite of the Aspergillus species, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is known to be the most toxigenic mycotoxin (Yunus et al., 2011). Feed contamination with AFB1 has been a major feed safety concern due to its negative effects on growth performance, production, hepatic functions, and immune system in many livestock species (Ledoux et al., 1999; Yarru et al., 2009; Andrett ...