PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Efforts are underway to develop technology for automatically determining the sex of chick embryos, aimed at establishing a stable and efficient poultry farming system while also addressing animal welfare concerns. This study investigated the possibility of chick sexing through blood analysis using Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectra were obtained from whole blood and its constituents, such as red blood cells (RBCs) and blood plasma, collected from chicks aged 1-2 days, using a 785-nm excitation wavelength. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed statistically significant sex-dependent spectral variations in whole blood and RBCs, whereas blood plasma showed less clear dependency. These spectral differences between male and female chicks were attributed to differences in the proportion of spectral components from oxygenated (oxy-) and deoxygenated (deoxy-) RBCs, with males exhibiting a slightly stronger contribution of oxy-RBCs compared to females. This reflects the higher oxygen affinity of hemoglobin (Hb) in males compared to females. A model for discriminating chick sex was built using the ratios of certain Raman band characteristics of oxy-RBCs and deoxy-RBCs, achieving a sensitivity of 100%. This spectroscopic method holds promise for developing technology to discriminate the sex of early chicken embryos in ovo by detecting differences in oxygen saturation of RBCs based on sex.
摘要：
正在努力开发自动确定雏鸡胚胎性别的技术，旨在建立稳定高效的家禽养殖系统，同时解决动物福利问题。这项研究使用拉曼光谱通过血液分析研究了小鸡性别鉴定的可能性。从全血及其成分获得拉曼光谱，如红细胞（RBC）和血浆，从1-2天的小鸡收集，使用785nm激发波长。主成分分析（PCA）显示全血和红细胞的性别依赖性光谱差异具有统计学意义，而血浆显示不太明显的依赖性。雄性和雌性小鸡之间的这些光谱差异归因于含氧（氧）和脱氧（脱氧）红细胞的光谱成分比例的差异，与女性相比，男性表现出略强的氧红细胞贡献。这反映了与女性相比，男性血红蛋白（Hb）的氧亲和力更高。利用氧红细胞和脱氧红细胞的某些拉曼谱带特征的比率，建立了区分雏鸡性别的模型，实现100%的灵敏度。这种光谱方法有望通过检测基于性别的RBC氧饱和度的差异来开发辨别卵中早期鸡胚性别的技术。
