Differentiating between fertilized and unfertilized eggs prior to incubation based on oxygen flux measurement  

作　　者：Wang Qiaohua Fu Dandan Ma Meihu Zhang Tao 

机构地区：[1]College of Engineering,Huazhong Agricultural University,Wuhan 430070,China [2]National Research and Development Center for Egg Processing,Huazhong Agricultural University,Wuhan 430070,China [3]College of Food Science and Technology,Huazhong Agricultural University,Wuhan 430070,China

出　　处：《International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering》2017年第4期243-251,共9页国际农业与生物工程学报（英文）

基　　金：supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(31371771);Special Fund for Agroscientific Research in the Public Interest(201303084);National Science and Technology Support Programme(2015BAD19B05).

摘　　要：One unresolved challenge in the egg industry is how to efficiently and non-invasively detect unfertilized eggs prior to incubation.This detection ability would not only significantly improve hatching rates and reduce costs but also conserve incubator space and prevent poor-quality embryos from contributing to the spread of infections.This study demonstrates a procedure for distinguishing between fertilized and unfertilized eggs prior to incubation by studying the respiratory differences between fertilized and unfertilized eggs using the Non-invasive Micro-test Technique(NMT).A customized micro-testing examination platform,NMT Egg Testing System(NMT-ETS)was constructed for the real-time monitoring of the intensity and rate of oxygen exchange between the egg and its external environment.The results from this study revealed that at room temperature,there is a significant difference in gas exchange rates between fertilized and unfertilized eggs.The results indicate that the oxygen flux of fertilized eggs exceed 20 pmol/(cm^(2)·s),whereas unfertilized eggs show a much lower oxygen flux.Based on the results,the NMT method can be used to effectively distinguish between fertilized and unfertilized chicken eggs.

关 键 词：oxygen flux gas exchange rates fertilized eggs unfertilized eggs non-invasive micro-test technique 

分 类 号：Q95[生物学—动物学]