Research finds organic feed affects poultry gene expression

Organic feed influences gene expression in chickens, according to research from Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands.

Researchers found that organically fed chickens develop a different process of gene expression in their small intestines from chickens that get conventional feed. The organic chickens have higher expressed genes involved in the creation of cholesterol, but do not have raised cholesterol levels in their blood, according to the researchers.

Astrid de Greeff of Livestock Research in Lelystad, said this result was unexpected because the same ingredients were found in both feed types, and their only difference is the way they were cultivated.

This indicates another cultivation method can result in significant differences at the expression level, with 49 genes regulated differently, said Dr. de Greeff.

A differential expression of 49 genes among a total of 20,000 chicken genes may seem little but it is in fact a big difference when the only difference in the feed is the cultivation method, she said.

Moreover, seven of the 49 genes are involved in cholesterol biosynthesis, when only thirty genes are involved in total in the process. What happens biologically when these genes become expressed higher is still unknown.