Proteomic insights into broiler stress responses to LED lighting: Effects on liver proteome under neutral, cool, and warm spectra

Abstract

Light plays a critical role in poultry production, influencing broiler behavior, immune function, and growth. Effective lighting management optimizes broiler health and performance, with LED lighting emerging as an energy-efficient alternative to traditional fluorescent lights. However, the molecular impacts of different LED light spectra remain underexplored. This pilot study involved sixteen male broilers (four per treatment group), raised under four different lighting conditions. This study used label-free quantitative proteomics to analyze liver protein expression in broilers (3.30 ± 0.20 kg live weight) raised under Neutral (K = 3300 − 3700), Cool (K = 5500 − 6000), and Warm (K = 3000 − 2500) LED lighting compared to Control neon lights (n = 4 per group). On average, 1,181 proteins were identified, primarily involved in cellular functions, metabolism, regulation, localization, and stress responses. Minimal differences were observed between Neutral and Warm LED lighting and Control lighting, with only six and eight proteins differentially expressed. In contrast, Cool LED lighting resulted in significant changes, with 81 proteins differentially expressed. These differences were statistically significant based on the following criteria: a p-value < 0.05 from ANOVA, at least two matched peptides, and a fold-change in abundance of ≥1.5. Key findings include the up-regulation of ribosome-binding protein 1 and ATP-citrate lyase (ACLY) under Control lighting, linked to stress adaptation. Cool LED lighting triggered up-regulation of proteins associated with aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, suggesting stress-related responses. These results obtained in this pilot study indicate that Neutral and Warm LED lighting positively influence the liver proteome hepatic adaptation in broilers, while Cool LEDs may induce stress-related responses in the liver.