Effects of Acute Heat Stress Duration on Hepatic HSP70, GR, and AMPKα Gene Expression in Texas Quail

OpenAlex İngilizce

Heat stress is a significant environmental factor in poultry production, negatively impacting growth performance, egg yield, and mortality rates. The present work examines how short- and long-term thermal exposure modulates liver expression patterns of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), glucocorticoid receptor (GR), and AMP-activated protein kinase alpha (AMPKα) genes in the liver tissue of 6-week-old male Texas quail (Coturnix japonica). A total of 24 quail randomly assigned into three experimental groups: a thermoneutral control group (24 ± 1 °C), a group maintained under heat-stress conditions for an 8 hour duration (34 ± 1 °C), and maintained under heat-stress conditions for a 24 hours (34 ± 1 °C). Liver tissues were collected after heat exposure, and cDNA synthesis was performed following total RNA isolation. SYBR Green-based qRT-PCR was employed to quantify gene expression levels. o compare the experimental groups, a one-way ANOVA was used, and pairwise comparisons were conducted with the Tukey test. Compared with the control group, both heat-stressed groups exhibited a significant elevation in HSP70 expression (p < 0.001). GR expression was similar in the control group and the 8-hour heat stress group, while it was showed a significantly higher level in the 24-hour heat stress group (p = 0.003). AMPKα expression was similarly higher in both heat stress groups. In conclusion, it was shown that the liver tissue of Texas quail develops a significant molecular response to acute heat stress. The expression profiles of HSP70, GR, and AMPKα genes suggest that they can be used as potential molecular biomarkers in the assessment of heat stress in poultry.