AUTHOR=Kong Fuli , Zhao Guiping , He Zhengxiao , Sun Jiahong , Wang Xicai , Liu Dawei , Zhu Dan , Liu Ranran , Wen Jie 

TITLE=Serum Creatine Kinase as a Biomarker to Predict Wooden Breast in vivo for Chicken Breeding

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.711711

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2021.711711

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=The present study aimed to find a blood marker for the prediction of wooden breast (WB) and white striping (WS) to assist the genetic selection of fast-growing chickens. The experiments were carried out with two chicken flocks: 150 male broilers in flock 1 and 100 male and female broilers in flock 2. Both flocks were slaughtered and measured. The breast fillets were assessed by combining subjective scoring and compression force at 28 (flock 1 only) and 42 days old. The enzyme activity in serum and breast tissue (flock 1 only) of normal and moderate affected groups was tested. The results showed that the compression force was significantly different between the normal and affected groups at 28 and 42 days (P<0.001), and it increased significantly with rising WB and WS scores. The serum creatine kinase (CK) value increased significantly with rising compression force at 42 days old (P<0.001). The serum CK positively correlated with compression force (r=0.608; P<0.001) and could be used as a biomarker to predict the degree of WB and WS in live birds. The association between serum CK and compression force is consistent between flocks 1 and 2. In conclusion, our study indicated that compression force could be an objective indicator to differentiate breast fillets and serum CK could be a candidate biomarker to predict WB and WS and assist genetic selection in fast-growing broiler breeding.