Showing papers on "Coturnix published in 1989"
TL;DR: The toxicokinetic profile of ochratoxin A was studied after the oral or intravenous administration of 50 ng/g b.w. to fish, quail, mouse, rat and monkey.
Abstract: The toxicokinetic profile of ochratoxin A was studied after the oral or intravenous administration of 50 ng/g b.w. to fish, quail, mouse, rat and monkey. The elimination half-life varied from 0.68 h after oral administration to fish, up to 840 h after intravenous administration to monkey. The distribution volume ranged from 57 ml/kg in fish to 1500 ml/kg in quail. The plasma clearance was most rapid in quail and fish, 72 and 58 ml/kg.h, respectively, while it was only 0.17 ml/kg.h in monkey. The bioavailability was as low as 1.6% in fish but as high as 97% in mouse. The binding abilities of ochratoxin A to plasma proteins were also studied. From these data we calculated the free fraction of toxin in plasma, which we found to be less than 0.2% in all species investigated (including man) except fish. A similar but smaller investigation on the toxicokinetics and binding properties of ochratoxin B was also performed. Ochratoxin B was more readily eliminated and had a lower affinity for plasma proteins, which partly may explain its lower toxicity.
254 citations
TL;DR: It is inferred that a significant portion of aromatase in brain is associated with smooth membranes present inside synaptosomes, a result consistent with glandular tissues.
Abstract: The subcellular distribution patterns of aromatase, 5α- and 5β-reductase in the hypothalamus/preoptic area of Japanese quail were studied using standard methods of centrifugation, and fractional const
146 citations
TL;DR: Steroid autoradiography was undertaken to determine the neuroanatomical loci which might be involved in the activation of steroid-sensitive behaviors in the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica).
Abstract: Steroid autoradiography was undertaken to determine the neuroanatomical loci which might be involved in the activation of steroid-sensitive behaviors in the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). Male and female quail were either surgically gonadectomized or photically regressed and implanted with androgen or estrogen to restore normal sexual and courtship behavior. After gonadectomy or implant removal, each quail was injected with 250 microCi of [3H]-testosterone (3H-T), [3H]-estradiol (3H-E2), or [3H]-dihydrotestosterone (3H-DHT), sacrificed, processed for autoradiography, and the telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon, and rhombencephalon were examined for labelled cells. Following 3H-T or 3H-E2 injection and autoradiography, labelled cells were found in nucleus septalis lateralis (SL), nucleus preopticus medialis (POM), nucleus paraventricularis (PVN), regio lateralis hypothalami (LHy), nucleus inferior hypothalami (IH), nucleus infundibuli (IN), nucleus intercollicularis (ICo), substantia grisea centralis (GCt), nucleus taeniae (Tn), and in the reticular formation near nucleus motorius nervi trigemini (MV). In addition, following 3H-E2 autoradiography, labelled cells were found around nucleus accumbens (Ac). Following 3H-DHT autoradiography, labelled cells were found only in SL, PVN, Tn, LHy, ICo, and CGt. No labelled cells were found in Ac, POM, IH, IN, or MV even after long exposure times. These results suggest that the nuclei labelled following 3H-E2 but not 3H-DHT administration bind exclusively the aromatized metabolites of T. Since quail show a sex difference in male-typical copulatory behavior in response to E2, labelled cells were counted in POM, LHy, IH, and Tn of male and female quail following 3H-E2 injection and autoradiography. No sex differences in the number of labelled cells were found in POM, LHy, or IH. Males were found to have more labelled cells than females in Tn. These results show that sex differences in male-typical copulatory behavior are not due to sex differences in the number of cells binding estrogens in POM. The results reported here constitute the most neuroanatomically extensive report of steroid binding cells to date for a galliform brain, the first comparison in a galliform bird of the distributions of cells labelled following injection of 3H-T, 3H-E2, and 3H-DHT and the first analysis of sex differences in numbers of estrogen-binding cells in four nuclei in the avian brain.
128 citations
TL;DR: Results confirm that, in the ZZ male/ZW female sex-determining system of birds, dosage compensation for Z-linked genes does not occur by inactivation of one of the two Z chromosomes in the homogametic male.
Abstract: The karyotypes of the domestic chicken ( Gallus domesticus ), Japanese quail ( Coturnix coturnix ), and griffon vulture ( Gyps fulvus ) were studied
110 citations
TL;DR: In the Japanese quail (Coturnix cotturnix japonica), a species in which individuals exhibit a wide range of aggressiveness in nature and the laboratory, together with a newly devised test procedure for quantifying aggressiveness, has recently demonstrated that aggression is estrogen dependent as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Testosterone (T) triggers aggressive behavior in males of many vertebrate species; however, the neural and hormonal basis of individual differences in the frequency or intensity of aggressive behavior is still debated. Using the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica), a species in which individuals exhibit a wide range of aggressiveness in nature and the laboratory, together with a newly devised test procedure for quantifying aggressiveness, we recently demonstrated that aggression is estrogen dependent. Here we extend these studies by testing the hypothesis that aromatization in brain is a rate-limiting step in the expression of individual differences in aggressiveness. Using procedures previously validated for this species, aromatase and 5 alpha- and 5 beta-reductase activities were estimated in selected brain regions of reproductively active male quail by measuring conversion of [3H]androstenedione to [3H]estrone, [3H]5 alpha-androstanedione, and [3H]5 beta-androstanedione, respectively. In Exp 1, behaviorally inexperienced test birds were killed 90 sec after a single behavioral test. Aggressiveness of individuals in this group, as determined by pecking and locomotor activity in response to visualization of a conspecific, ranged 3- to 4-fold from high to low. Aromatase activity in the posterior hypothalamus (PHYP) was significantly higher in males rated high for aggressiveness than in animals rated low (1.04 vs. 0.59 pmol/h.mg protein; P less than 0.02). Similar differences were observed in the anterior hypothalamus/preoptic area (AHPOA) but were not significant. In Exp 2, sexually mature males were behaviorally tested eight times over 22 days and killed 24 h after the final test. Aggressiveness varied 5-fold from high to low, although the rating in a given bird remained constant with time and repeat testing. Aromatase activity in the AHPOA was significantly greater in birds rated high for aggressiveness than in low aggressiveness birds (3.77 vs. 2.80 pmol/h.mg protein; P less than 0.02). In addition, when AHPOA aromatase in all birds was plotted against behavioral intensity, there was a 2-fold variation and a significant positive correlation (r = 0.556; P less than 0.02). Similar differences were observed in PHYP, but these were of borderline significance. By contrast, aromatase levels outside the AHPOA and PHYP were unrelated to behavior. Moreover, in both Exp 1 and 2, 5 alpha- and 5 beta-reductase activities in AHPOA, PHYP, and other brain regions; plasma T, 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone, and total estrogens; and relative testicular weights were not consistently related to aggression.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
95 citations
TL;DR: Contextual conditioning may lower the threshold for sexual behavior with the result that a stimulus as impoverished as an immobile model containing only the head and neck of a female quail becomes sufficient to elicit normal levels of copulatory behavior.
Abstract: Three experiments were conducted to identify species-specific sign stimuli sufficient to elicit copulatory behavior in male Japanese quail and to determine how learning is involved in the control of behavior by these sign stimuli. In Experiment 1, sexually experienced subjects were tested for copulatory behavior with a live female quail and with a model consisting of a female quail's head and neck mounted in front of a foam pad. Comparable levels of copulatory behavior were observed in the two tests, indicating that static visual cues provided by a female quail's head and neck are sufficient to elicit copulatory behavior in this species. Experiment 2 showed that male birds that previously received numerous opportunities to copulate with a live female quail in the test situation were significantly more likely to copulate with the head + neck model than were sexually inexperienced subjects. Experiment 3 showed that prior sexual experience with live quail facilitated responding to the head + neck model only if the sexual experience was provided in the same place where subjects were later tested with the model. This last finding suggests that sexual experience facilitates control of copulatory behavior by species-specific sign stimuli through contextual conditioning. Contextual conditioning may lower the threshold for sexual behavior with the result that a stimulus as impoverished as an immobile model containing only the head and neck of a female quail becomes sufficient to elicit normal levels of copulatory behavior. The results are also discussed as an example of conditioned stimulus facilitation of responding to an unconditioned stimulus.
76 citations
TL;DR: Results indicate that unrestrained proliferation associated with transformation is responsible for v-myc-induced block of myogenic differentiation.
54 citations
TL;DR: Presenting stimulus birds one at a time proved to be a more sensitive test of sexual-discrimination learning than presenting two stimulus birds at the same time, and indicated that sexual- discrimination learning is similar to conventional associative learning.
Abstract: We investigated how male Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) learn through extensive social and sexual experience to discriminate between male and female conspecifics. Opportunity for heterosexual copulation was important for this learning, but even extensive copulatory opportunity was not sufficient to produce a sexual discrimination; subjects also required exposure to other males. Exposure to females after copulatory opportunity did not produce a sexual discrimination but facilitated its acquisition. Time or exposure to only the visual features of male birds (provided by taxidermic models) after copulatory opportunity did not result in differential responding to male and female conspecifics. Finally, presenting stimulus birds one at a time proved to be a more sensitive test of sexual-discrimination learning than presenting two stimulus birds at the same time. The results indicate that sexual-discrimination learning is similar to conventional associative learning.
34 citations
TL;DR: The thymic epithelium has the capacity to induce tolerance of xenogeneic rudiments when both grafts are implanted at early stages of embryonic development and two birds in which removal of the chick host thymus was complete are reported.
Abstract: We demonstrated previously that isotopic and isochronic grafts of the quail bursa of Fabricius rudiment performed at 5 days of incubation (E5) into chick embryos resulted in the development of a chimeric bursa whose chick host B lymphocytes and accessory cells differentiated in a foreign, quail epithelial environment. Such animals reject their grafted bursa by the age of 2-3 weeks post-hatching (1,2). Isotopic embryonic grafts of the thymus epitheliomesenchymal anlagen from the quail donor of the bursal rudiment were carried out at E4.5 (before their colonization by hemopoietic precursor cells), following partial or complete host thymectomy. The quail thymic epithelial stroma was accepted and invaded by chick hemopoietic precursor cells that further differentiated into lymphocytes and dendritic cells. Tolerance of the foreign bursa was induced in such thymobursal chimeras. This demonstrates that the thymic epithelium has the capacity to induce tolerance of xenogeneic rudiments when both grafts are implanted at early stages of embryonic development. We also report on the production of two birds in which removal of the chick host thymus was complete thus generating chimeras in which host T and B lymphocytes differentiated in a completely xenogeneic epithelial environment.
33 citations
TL;DR: The trajectory of retinal projections and the location of retinorecipient nuclei in the quail brain was examined after application of horseradish peroxidase either to the cut end of the optic nerve or following intraocular injection of HRP.
Abstract: The trajectory of retinal projections and the location of retinorecipient nuclei in the quail brain was examined after application of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) either to the cut end of the optic nerve or following intraocular injection of HRP. Retinal projections to the hypothalamus, dorsalateral anterior thalamus (rostralateral part, magnocellular part, and lateral part), lateral anterior thalamus, lateroventral geniculate nucleus, lateral geniculate intercalated nuclei (rostral and caudal parts), ventrolateral thalamus, superficial synencephalic nucleus, external nucleus, tectal gray, diffuse pretectal area, pretectal optic area, ectomammillary nucleus, and optic tectum were revealed. Retinal projections observed in quail were compared with results obtained in other avian species and considered in relation to possible anatomic pathways underlying photoperiodism and circadian rhythms.
20 citations
TL;DR: Results suggest that the SUS quail possess a portion of the MDV genome in the germline, and the viral genes have been coselected by their susceptibility to cholesterol-induced atherosclerosis.
Abstract: Japanese quail genetically selected on the basis of atherosclerosis susceptibility were tested for infection by Marek's disease herpesvirus (MDV). Viral DNA was detected in the atherosclerotic aortas of susceptible (SUS) quail by the technique of DNA hybridization. Southern blot analysis demonstrated that restriction mapping of aortic DNA was specific and different from that of MDV. Screening of quail embryos by dot-blot hybridization detected that MDV DNA existed in 100% of SUS quail tested. Resistant (RES) quail were a mixed population, with 16% of embryos resembling the SUS group. Functional MDV was not found by a number of methods including virus isolation, serological test, and exposure of sentinel chicks to SUS quail. These results suggest that the SUS quail possess a portion of the MDV genome in the germline, and the viral genes have been coselected by their susceptibility to cholesterol-induced atherosclerosis.
TL;DR: Both ADH-2 andADH-3 showed specificity toward hydrophobic primary alcohols and were most active toward benzyl alcohol and n-octanol, which distinguished them from mammalian pyrazole-sensitive ADH isoenzymes.
Abstract: Livers from male or female Coturnix quail possess up to four electrophoretically distinct bands of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity. Three pyrazole-sensitive bands of enzymatic activity, designated ADH-1, ADH-2, and ADH-3, are cathodic at pH 8.2, and the fourth, ADH-An, is neutral to slightly anodic and insensitive to pyrazole. ADH-2 and ADH-3, and occasionally ADH-1, are present in livers from immature females. The predominant enzyme in immature male livers is ADH-3. At sexual maturity all three pyrazole-sensitive enzymes are present in livers from male birds, and livers from females possess predominantly ADH-3. ADH-2 and ADH-3, purified from female livers, are dimers of 80,000 daltons possessing 4 mol of Zn2+/mol of native protein. Both ADH-2 and ADH-3 were inhibited by 4-methylpyrazole with KI values of 430 and 335 nM, respectively. These values are similar to those of human class I isoenzymes. Neither enzyme oxidized methanol or ethylene glycol, which distinguished them from mammalian pyrazole-sensitive ADH isoenzymes. Both ADH-2 and ADH-3 showed specificity toward hydrophobic primary alcohols and were most active toward benzyl alcohol and n-octanol.
TL;DR: The occurrence of coligranulomatosis in a Brazilian flock of 1500 8-to-12-month-old coturnix quail is described, which caused an 85% drop in egg production and 15% mortality.
Abstract: The occurrence of coligranulomatosis in a Brazilian flock of 1500 8-to-12-month-old coturnix quail is described. The disease caused an 85% drop in egg production and 15% mortality. Lesions were located on the mesentery, intestines, gizzard, heart, oviducts, ovaries, and liver. Samples of these organs were submitted for bacteriological culture, isolation, identification, pathogenicity assay by inoculation of diluted cultures into healthy hens, and histopathology.
TL;DR: PGE2 is a potent stimulator of adrenal B release in quail, as in mammals, and stressed PGE2-injected quail had significantly higher plasma B levels than unstressed, PGE 2-injection quail.
TL;DR: Growth factor activity in luminal fluids from the male reproductive tract was assayed by measuring the stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation into BALB/c 3T3 fibroblasts.
Abstract: Growth factor activity in luminal fluids from the male reproductive tract was assayed by measuring the stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation into BALB/c 3T3 fibroblasts. The potency of fluids from the rete testis of the rat, ram, tammar wallaby and Japanese quail was much the same. However, about 90% of the activity in fluid from the rete testis of the rat and tammar was lost during its passage through the epididymis.
TL;DR: Experimental studies showed Japanese quail to be highly susceptible to disease caused by the P. multocida, and the organism was apparently eliminated from the premises by thorough cleaning, disinfection, and insect and rodent control.
Abstract: Three flocks of Japanese quail, approximately 75,000 birds each, experienced acute high mortality beginning at 24 to 28 days of age. Gross lesions were absent or were composed of either multifocal small pale areas on livers and spleens or lungs slightly darker in color than normal. Histopathology revealed multifocal splenic and hepatic necrosis and interstitial pneumonia. Pasteurella multocida, serotype 3,4, was isolated from affected tissues. The quail were successfully treated with chlortetracycline, and the organism was apparently eliminated from the premises by thorough cleaning, disinfection, and insect and rodent control. Experimental studies showed Japanese quail to be highly susceptible to disease caused by the P. multocida isolated from the affected flocks.
TL;DR: Albino (aI), dilute (aID), and wild-type (AI+) quail in their ocular responses to continuous light, the rearing condition that brings on light-induced avian glaucoma (LIAG) in domestic chickens, showed similar but even greater increases in dilutes and albinos reared under continuous light.
Abstract: We compared albino (aI), dilute (aID), and wild-type (AI+) quail in their ocular responses to continuous light, the rearing condition that brings on light-induced avian glaucoma (LIAG) in domestic chickens. At age 3 months, all quail kept under 24L/OD showed the retarded corneal growth and corneal flattening characteristic of LIAG. Unlike chickens, quail did not suffer pathological eye enlargement during the early growing period. However, by 6 months of age, 24L/OD albinos showed an almost 20% increase in eye weight compared with 12L/12D albinos. The increase in eye weight for 24L/OD dilutes at 6 months of age was 18%; for 24L/OD wild types, it was 16%. Intraocular pressure, the key criterion for glaucoma, was almost twice as high at 6 months of age in 24L/OD wild types as it was in 12L/12D wild types and showed similar but even greater increases in dilutes and albinos reared under continuous light. Across-genotype comparisons revealed additional effects of the mutant genes themselves: the eyes of albinos were 22.6% larger. The eyes of dilutes showed a similar but smaller response--5% and 6.6%, respectively, and correlated increases in globe dimensional parameters. The flat cornea characteristic of LIAG appeared in all three mutants, but only when environmental light had been kept at 24L/OD. This further separates the LIAG effect from the phenomenon we call albino quail macrophthalmos.
TL;DR: The SEA strain of Japanese quail appears to be a practical model for the study of arteriosclerosis; fish oil reduces the severity of disease in these birds when fed a high cholesterol diet.
Abstract: The effects of fish oil on the development of arteriosclerosis were assessed using a special susceptible strain (SEA) of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Sixty four quail were randomly divided into two groups and placed on isocaloric and approximately isocholesterolic (2% by weight) diets. Group A (control) was supplemented with 10% beef tallow oil, while group B received 10% Menhaden fish oil. The birds were sacrificed at 10 weeks (early) and 15-16 weeks (late). Based on semiquantitative histological grading of the arteriosclerotic lesions in the proximal aorta and brachiocephalic arteries, a score from 1 (no lesion) to 5 (severe, diffuse lesions) was assigned. A total of 57 quail were evaluated (seven died prior to scheduled sacrifice). At the early period, the mean arteriosclerosis scores for group A (n = 8) and group B (n = 8) were 3.3 (SD 1.0) and 1.9(1.0) respectively (p less than 0.017); 63% of the quail in group A and 13% of those in group B had a score greater than or equal to 3 (p less than 0.25, NS). At the late period, the scores for group A (n = 20) and group B (n = 21) were 3.8(0.6) and 2.6(0.9), respectively (p less than 0.001); 95% of the birds in group A and 43% of those in group B had a score greater than or equal to 3 (p less than 0.005). Histopathological examination of the arteriosclerotic lesions revealed disruption of the innermost elastic lamina, increased proteoglycan deposition in the medial interlamellar spaces, and the distinct involvement of macrophage like cells. Compared to human disease, arteriosclerosis in the quail is marked by distinct similarities, as well as differences. The SEA strain of Japanese quail appears to be a practical model for the study of arteriosclerosis; fish oil reduces the severity of disease in these birds when fed a high cholesterol diet.
TL;DR: Observations are consistent with the hypothesis that, in addition to transcriptional activation of muscle-specific genes, skeletal muscle differentiation normally involves cell cycle-dependent modulations in cellular factors which control message stability and message translation.
Abstract: In cultures of differentiated, fusion-blocked muscle cells obtained from embryonic Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica), mitogen stimulation leads to an immediate reduction in the rates of synthesis of skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain (MHC) and alpha-actin. The molecular mechanisms responsible for this downregulation were examined. The cellular abundances of the alpha-actin and MHC mRNAs were affected differently by mitogen stimulation; alpha-actin mRNA abundance declined by an amount which quantitatively accounted for the observed decrease in alpha-actin synthesis, whereas MHC mRNA abundance remained virtually unchanged during the first 6 h following mitogen stimulation, a period during which MHC synthesis declined by more than 70%. MHC mRNA abundance did decline between 6 and 12 h after mitogen stimulation. Downregulation of MHC synthesis therefore involves an initial block in mRNA translation combined with a later loss of MHC mRNA from the cytoplasma, while alpha-actin synthesis is regulated at the level of mRNA abundance. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that, in addition to transcriptional activation of muscle-specific genes, skeletal muscle differentiation normally involves cell cycle-dependent modulations in cellular factors which control message stability and message translation.
TL;DR: Results indicate that the Japanese quail has a viral target cell different from that of the chicken, and the implications of a single bipotential transformation target yielding both erythroid and mast cell-basophil colonies is discussed.
Abstract: Hematopoietic cells of the Japanese quail were transformed by avian erythroblastosis virus in vivo and in vitro. In both circumstances, the infected hematopoietic tissues exhibited a dual oncogenic response of erythroid and mast cell-basophil elements. The erythroid transformants escaped the avian erythroblastosis virus block in differentiation and progressed to hemoglobinization. Resulting basophilic cells were morphologically, biochemically, and ultrastructurally identical to mast cell-basophils observed in other species. None of the virally transformed cells actively produced reverse transcriptase activity. Nonproducer cell lines synthesized viral RNA and both v-erbA and v-erbB proteins. These results indicate that the Japanese quail has a viral target cell different from that of the chicken. The implications of a single bipotential transformation target yielding both erythroid and mast cell-basophil colonies is discussed.