Effect of Necrotic Enteritis on Breast Meat Quality, Muscle Development and Gene Expression in Broilers

While the detrimental impacts of necrotic enteritis (NE) on poultry health and growth are well documented, its consequences on final meat quality are poorly understood. This research evaluated how a clinical NE infection alters the physicochemical and molecular properties of broiler breast meat. Two hundred and forty one-day-old Ross 708 male chicks were divided into an unchallenged control (CON) and an NE-infected group (6 replicate pens per treatment; 20 birds/pen). To induce disease, the NE cohort received a 10× coccidiosis vaccine at 14 days of age and was subsequently inoculated with Clostridium perfringens (~2.8 × 108 CFU/mL) on day 19, while CON birds received sterile fluid thioglycolate medium. At day 40, Pectoralis major samples were collected (n = 6 per group) to analyze physical characteristics, chemical composition, muscle histomorphology, and target gene expression. The disease challenge noticeably deteriorated key sensory traits, resulting in higher cooking loss and greater puncture force (p < 0.01), which points to diminished water-holding capacity and tougher meat. Furthermore, breast fillets from infected birds showed lower L* values (p < 0.05), indicating a darker color, while a* and b* values remained unchanged. Interestingly, macroscopic variables such as proximate composition, ultimate pH, and muscle fiber morphology did not differ significantly between treatments (p > 0.05). At the molecular level, NE upregulated the mRNA abundance of several targets related to myogenesis, fiber characteristics, proteolysis, and energy metabolism (MyoD, MYH1, MYH7, CAST, CAPN1, PHKG1, and PRKAA1; p < 0.05). Correlation matrices highlighted strong links between diminished physical meat quality and the expression of MYH1, CAPN1, and PRKAA1, with MYH1 specifically associated with both moisture loss and firmness. Ultimately, a clinical C. perfringens infection compromises more than live-bird performance; it fundamentally degrades the technological attributes of harvested meat, suggesting the financial toll of this enteric disease includes depreciation of end-product market value.