Improved barley broiler feed with transgenic malt containing heat-stable (1,3-1,4)-beta-glucanase.

ABSTRACT: The low nutritional value of barley for poultry is because of the absence of an intestinal enzyme for efficient depolymerization of (1, 3-1,4)-beta-glucan, the major polysaccharide of the endosperm cell walls. This leads to high viscosity in the intestine, limited nutrient uptake, decreased growth rate, and unhygienic sticky droppings adhering to chickens and floors of the production cages. Consequently, the 7.5 billion broiler chickens produced annually in the United States are primarily raised on corn-soybean diets. Here we show that addition to normal barley of 6.2% transgenic malt containing a thermotolerant (1,3-1,4)-beta-glucanase (4.28 microg.g(-1) soluble protein) provides a weight gain equivalent to corn diets. The number of birds with adhering sticky droppings is drastically redu

SUBMITTER: von Wettstein D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC17606 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature