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Genetic variation of body temperature of Coturnix coturnix in two ambient temperatures.

Coturnix quail were placed in an environmental chamber maintained at 21 degree C. and rectal temperatures taken. The birds were subjected to an abrupt change to 36 degree C. and the temperatures taken hourly for eight hours and at 25, 38 and 72 hours. Females had higher temperatures than males. When birds were moved to 36 degrees C. their temperatures rose rapidly and then dropped to a level higher than when birds were in the 21 degrees C. chamber. The genetic and total variation estimated from the analysis of variance method decreased under this sudden thermal stress condition. Birds kept in 36 degrees C. for three weeks were shifted to 21 degrees C. Their body temperature dropped sharply and then increased to a level lower than that obtained in the 36 degrees C. environment. The genetic variation was essentially zero when shifted to a lower temperature while the total variation increased.

Animals

The folacin requirements of broiler chicks and quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

Six experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of dietary composition on the folacin requirement of broiler chicks and to determine the folacin requirement of growing Japanese quail. The folacin requirement of both chicks and quail could not be determined when an isolated soybean protein based diet containing 0.44 mg. folacin per kilogram was used. Dietary composition affects folacin requirement of growing broiler chicks. Three values for the folacin requirement of growing broiler chicks were determined when three different basal diets were fed. With a low-glycine, casein based diet, growth was limited more by glycine than folic acid which improved growth only at 1.69 mg./kg. When 0.7% glycine was added to this casein diet, the folacin requirement was determined to be between 0.34 and 0.49 mg./kg. diet. However, with a casein-gelatin based diet, the folacin requirement was found to be between 0.12 and 0.27 mg./kg diet. Folacin deficiency in growing Japanese quail caused poor feathering, high mortality, leg weakness and cervical paralysis. A curly-toe system was observed in coturnix chicks fed low levels of folacin and might also be a consequence of folacin deficiency. The folacin requirement of growing Japanese quail was found to be 0.30 to 0.36 mg./kg. diet when a casein-gelatin based diet was fed.

Animals

Studies on differentiation of Mûllerian ducts in the quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica. II. Effects of sex hormones on nucleic acid synthesis in isolated female ducts.

The present investigations were carried out in an effort to determine the mechanisms underlying differentiation in the avian Müllerian duct, especially the asymmetrical differentiation of the female ducts. Using the isolated female ducts of Japanese quail, the incorporations of 3H-uridine and 14C-thymidine were determined in vitro at several embryonic stages. Incorporation of 3H-uridine was altered with some synchronous fluctuation during the embryonic period in both the left and right ducts, while 14C-thymidine incorporation first decreased rapidly and subsequently, only slightly, during the same period. By administering sex hormones in vitro nucleotide incorporation was affected to an appreciable extent characteristic of the duct at each stage. This hormonal susceptibility was also periodically altered during duct differentiation. The growing left duct continued to receive an apparent stimulation under the hormonal conditions, while the involuting right duct was sometimes inhibited under the same conditions. Such hormonal susceptibilities may explain the asymmetrical differentiation of the female left and right ducts during this embryonic period.

Animals

Heart rate response to light in the embryo of the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix).

The effects of exposure to light were investigated during and shortly after the period of light stimulation. A particular objective was to evaluated any responses to the type of illumination conditions generally used for observation of avian embryos. Twenty 16-day Japanese quail embryos were illuminated for 15 minutes each during a total recording period of 55 minutes. Heart rate, respiration rate and an approximate measure of activity were recorded. Mean heart rate was found to be higher during stimulation than before and did not return to the prestimulation level during the recording period after stimulation ceased. The lack of an immediate heart rate response to the onset of stimulation separates the effects of light from those of touch, rotation, odours, tastes and maternal calls. The possibility that light may act to stimulate accelerated development is discussed.

Animals

Light- and electron-microscopic studies on the secretory cytology of the adenohypophysis of the Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica.

The effects of thyroidectomy, adrenalectomy, and castration on the pars distalis of male Japanese quail, and of injection of LH-RH on sexually inactive females, were investigated by light and electron microscopy. Correlation between light and electron microscopy was attained by use of alternate thin and thick sections. Six types of secretory cells were identified and the ultrastructural characteristics described. Putative endocrine functions have been designated on the basis of responses to experimental interventions and on other criteria. The putative STH cells are characterized by the presence of large dense secretory granules (250-300 nm) that are stained with orange-G by the trichrome method. They occur only in the caudal lobe and appear to be unchanged by castration, thyroidectomy, adrenalectomy and LH-RH injection. The putative prolactin cells are characterized by large (400-600 nm), spherical or polmorphic, dense secretory granules stainable with acid fuchsin and aniline blue; prominent Golgi apparatus and well developed endoplasmic reticulum with densely packed, regularly parallel lamellae. They are found mainly in the cephalic lobe. The prolactin cells develop some vacuolization after adrenalectomy and undergo some degeneration after castration. The ACTH cells, which are restricted to the cephalic lobe, are identified by the dense, spherical granules (250-300 nm) that are stained with acid fuchsin. After adrenalectomy, they lose their secretory granules and are transformed into large, chromophobic adrenalectomy cells. TSH cells are so designated by their response to thyroidectomy including loss of their fine secretory granules and transformation to large, vacuolated thyroidectomy cells. We have found TSH cells and thyroidectomy cells only in the cephalic lobe. Basophilic cells, considered to be gonadotropes, occur in both the cephalic and caudal lobes. The gonadotropes of the cephalic lobe appear to have slightly larger (120-200 nm) granules than the caudal lobe (120-150 nm). However, after castration, the gonadotropes in both lobes become hypertrophied and vacuolated and are transformed into mutually indistinguishable castration cells. Twenty minutes after injection with LH-RH, the gonadotropes of both lobes increase in size and number, degranulate, develop vacuoles in the cytoplasm, and appear very similar to castration cells.

Adrenalectomy

Surface fine structure of the subfornical organ in the Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica.

The surface ultrastructure of the subfornical organ (SFO) was investigated in the Japanese quail. The SFO consists of a body and a stalk. The body of the SFO can be divided into rostral and caudal parts. On the rostral part, each ependymal cell possesses a short central solitary cilium; clustered cilia are also occasionally seen. Microvilli are abundant. On the caudal part, cells with a solitary cilium are fewer in number, and clustered cilia are rarely found. Microvilli are not as abundant as on the rostral part. In addition, large bulbous protrusions, tufts of small protrusions, deep funnel-shaped hollows, small pinocytotic invaginations and possible cerebrospinal fluid-contacting axons are sporadically observed on the surface of various regions of the body. Each ependymal cell of the stalk has a wide apical surface. A central solitary cilium, microvilli and other structures are observed more rarely on the stalk than on the body, while clustered cilia are not seen on the stalk. These structures are compared with those of the mammalian SFO and further discussed in relation to the possible dipsogenic receptor function for angiotensin II.

Animals

Parenchymal fine structure of the subfornical organ in the Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica.

The parenchyma of the subfornical organ (SFO) of the Japanese quail was studied by light and electron microscopy. The SFO consists of ependymal, intermediate, and basal (perimeningeal) layers. In the intermediate layer, neurons, glial cells, and their processes are found. Axons containing dense core granules approximately 80 nm in diameter are numerous, some of which make synaptic contact with the neuronal perikarya or dendrites. Synaptic vesicles in some axons contain a dense dot in the interior after treatment with 5-hydroxydopamine. The activity of the SFO, which is probably concerned with elicitation of drinking by angiotensin II, may be regulated at least partly by afferent monoaminergic axons. Capillaries with a non-fenestrated endothelium are occasionally found in the parenchyma. The basal layer is occupied by glial processes abutting on the digitating layer of perivascular connective tissue of meningeal vessels. The endothelium of these vessels is occasionally fenestrated. Trypan blue injected systemically accumulated in the SFO, but not in the deeper areas of the brain. The absence of a blood-brain barrier is suggested in the SFO.

Animals

The role of the subfornical organ in drinking induced by angiotension in the Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica.

Synthetic 5-valine angiotensin II (AII) induced copious drinking when applied directly to the the subfornical organ (SFO) in the Japanese quail. Reliable response was obtained with as little as 1 ng of AII. The amount of water intake increased dose-dependently from 5 ng to 1 microgram. A latent period of 73.0 +/- 11.0 seconds at 100 ng was noted. The electrical destruction of the SFO significantly reduced the amount of water intake induced by both intravenous and intracranial AII injections. The decrease was proportional to the extent of the SFO lesion. It is conceivable, therefore, that the SFO plays an important role in elicitation of drinking by AII in birds as suggested in mammals.

Angiotensin II

Ultrastructure of the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis of the Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica.

The structure of the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT) of the Japanese quail has been studied by light and electron microscopy. The OVLT has a palisade arrangement. It forms a part of the terminal plate extending from the optic chiasma to the anterior commissure and is characterized by a special vascular arrangement. The organ consists of ependymal, internal and external zones. The ventricular surface of the organ is covered by non-ciliated ependymal cells characterized by the presence of raspberry-like ventricular protrusions. The ependymal zone is composed of two types of ependymal cells, one being a large, cuboidal cell with columinous cytoplasmic protrusions suggesting secretion into ventricle, and the other a slender tanycyte with long balar plexus of the external surface. The internal zone contains two types of secretory neurons, parvocellular neurons containing a few dense-cored granules 1,000 A in diameter, and mediocellular neurons containing in their perikarya many larger granules 1,300-1,500 A in diameter and well developed granular endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. The granular formations are usually observed in the Golgi area of both types of cells, thus indicating of their secretory activities. There are three types of nerve terminals in the neuropil: (1) nerve endings containing spherical, dense-cored granules 800 A in diameter, which display axosomatic synapses with perikarya of the neurons, (2) nerve endings containing dense-cored granules 1,000 A in diameter and clear vesicles 400 A in diameter, and (3) nerve endings containing dense granules 1,300 A in diameter and clear vesicles. Types 2 and 3 do not display axo-xomatic synapses but often show axo-dendritic synaptic contacts with dendrites in the neuropil; thus they are probably axons originating from the parvocellular and mediocellular neurons of this organ. The functional significance of the neurons and axons of the OVLT is discussed and it is suggested that two kinds of neurohormones may be secreted from the OVLT of the Japanese quail.

Animals

Response to bidirectional and reverse selection for mating behavior in Japanese quail Coturnix coturnix japonica.

Reported is a genetic analysis of mating behavior in male Japanese quail. Data were obtained from replicated experiments involving 12 generations of divergent selection for high and low cumulative number of completed matings (CNCM). No trait measured in the randombred control population changed significantly over time. Asymmetrical responses between the divergent lines were observed during various phases of selection. Reversed selection showed that additive genetic variance remains in the high lines. Small and unimportant were drift and error variances. Genetic and phenotypic relationships between CNCM and body weight were small but positive, while those between CNCM and relative aggressiveness were positive and intermediate. Also positive and intermediate were the correlations between CNCM and cloacal gland size.

Animals

Effects of light and of testosterone derivatives or antiandrogens on the secretory content of the subcommissural organ of the quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica.

Photosensitivity of the quail subcommissural organ (SCO) is demonstrated. When the birds are submitted to continuous light the SCO cells appear depleted in secretory material and the enzyme activities investigated are of greater intensity. Such a diminished secretory content is observed in birds exposed to short daylength when they are injected with testosterone derivatives. Besides, injections of antiandrogenic compounds in continuously illuminated quails abolish the decrease of the secretory material induced by photostimulation. These results indicate that the SCO responsiveness to light appears to be mediated by some hormonal mechanism. Moreover it is more than a generalized metabolic effect: the response to antiandrogen injections suggests indeed that the SCO is a likely target organ for hormonal action.

Animals

Incorporation of tritiated uridine during pachytene and diplotene stages in the oocytes of the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

Incorporation of 3H-uridine was studied during pachytene and diplotene stages of quail oocytes. No labelling could be detected during early pachytene. During advanced and late pachytene, labelling simultaneously appeared on the macrochromosomes and on certain michromosomes in the zone where they emerge from the chromocentric surface periphery. The latter localization corresponds to the region of ribosomal RNA synthesis. At diplotene the same localizations were labelled with a considerably increased intensity.

Animals

[Biochemical polymorphism of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica): comparison of functionally different proteins (author's transl)].

The polymorphism observed among the enzymes involved in the respiratory metabolism (lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, phosphoglucomutase, phosphohexoseisomerase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase fructose 1-6 diphosphate dehydrogenase) is less important than that of the enzymes physiologically less essential, such as the various esterases, the alkaline phosphatase, the alcohol dehydrogenase, and of the non-enzymatic proteins (ovalbumin, ovoglobulins, ovomucoid, conalbumin, transferrin, etc.).

Alcohol Oxidoreductases

Stereospecific analysis of glycerolipids of egg yolk of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and triacylglycerol were isolated from egg yolk of the Japanese quail. Fatty acid compositions at the two and three positions of glycerol in the glycerolipids were determined by stereospecific analysis employing phospholipase A2. The distribution of the total number of carbon atoms in the fatty acid moieties of triacylglycerol was also quantitated by high temperature gas liquid chromatography. The distribution of acyl groups in each of the positions of the phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and triacylglycerol was not random, and each position has a characteristic composition. The phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine had distinctive fatty acid distributions for position sn-2 of the triacylglycerol had a predominance of unsaturated fatty acids of which 18:1 (69.9%) was the major component. Position sn-3 contained 49.3% saturated fatty acids and was more saturated than position sn-1 by 8.1%. The experimentally determined distribution of the carbon numbers in triacyl glycerol deviated significantly from the distribution predicted by 1-random-2-random-3-random association of the fatty acids. The data suggest that in Japanese quail there is marked preferencial synthesis of some triacylglycerols.

Animals

Involvement of catecholaminergic nerve fibers in angiotensin II-induced drinking in the Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica.

Monamine distribution in a septohypothalamic area was investigated in the Japanese quail using a histochemical fluorescence method. This area includes the subfornical organ (SFO) and the preoptic area (POA) which are inferred dipsogenic receptor sites for angiotensin II (AII) in the Japanese quail. Nerve fibers showing yellow-green fluorescence were found between the POA and the SFO. Thwy traversed from the POA to the SFO, and some fibers seemed to terminate on the neurons in the SFO. After a low dose of reserpine, a considerable number of fluorescent perikarya were found in the POA. These fibers and perikarya appeared to be of primary catecholamine judging from the fluorescence color. Following transection of these fibers, fluorescence disappeared from the fibers located on the SFO side of the transection plane, while it became a little more intense on the POA side. After transection, microinjection of AII into the POA was no longer effective in induction of drinking. On the other hand, sham operation or transection in areas other than between the POA and the SFO produced only minute changes in those fluorescent fibers and had little effect on the dipsogenic potency of AII injected into the POA. These results suggest that information of AII perceived at the POA is transferred to the SFO via those primary catecholamine-containing nerve fibers, which effect induced drinking.

Angiotensin II