Selection for Improved Water Efficiency in Broiler Breeder Lines Does Not Negatively Impact Immune Response Capabilities to Gram− and Gram+ Bacterial Components and a Killed-Salmonella Enteritidis Vaccine

Abstract

Water scarcity remains a critical challenge globally. Addressing this pressing issue is important to ensure food supply and water sustainability for the growing population and future generations. Water-efficient broiler breeder chickens are being developed at the University of Arkansas to promote efficient and sustainable water usage in poultry farming. For this, broiler breeders from a modern random-bred (MRB) control population were divergently selected based on low or high water conversion ratio (LWCR or HWCR, respectively), where WCR indicates water consumption per pound of body weight gain. This study assessed the impact of selection for water efficiency on the local (tissue/cellular) and systemic (blood) immune responses to components of Gram− and Gram+ bacteria and whole bacteria, namely, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), peptidoglycan (PGN), and a killed-Salmonella Enteritidis vaccine (SEV). Our results indicate that selection for improved water efficiency in the LWCR line did not negatively affect local and systemic cellular and humoral immune response capabilities to LPS and PGN bacterial components and killed SEV compared to the MRB control population. Overall, the robust and balanced immune system capabilities observed in the LWCR line with improved water efficiency show that, although they underwent selection pressure, their innate and adaptive defenses were not compromised under improved water sustainability practices.