Dataset Information

The relation between liver damage and reproduction in female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) exposed to high ambient temperature.

ABSTRACT: Reproductive failure associated with heat stress is a well-known phenomenon in poultry. High temperatures also induce various metabolic disturbances in many animals. Because the liver plays a central role in metabolism, the present study aimed to clarify the relationship between liver and reproduction in Japanese quails exposed to high temperatures. In the consecutive 20-D experimental period, quails were treated with 25°C (control) or 34°C (heat) from 12:00 to 16:00. Eggs were collected for hatching. On completion of the experimental period, quails were humanely euthanized for hormone analyses (e.g., serum and ovarian follicles). Serum metabolites were analyzed using GC/MS. Liver and ovary samples were collected for mRNA levels, histomorphology, and metabolic analysis. Ovary and oviduct weights significantly decreased after daily heat exposure. The number and weight of hierarchical follicles also decreased. Consequently, egg weight decreased. Although there was no difference in fertilization rate, chick birth weight significantly decreased in the heated group. Corticosterone and 17?-estradiol in the serum significantly increased in the heated group. Yolk corticosterone and 17?-estradiol concentration and content were higher in the heated group. Ovary sterologenic enzymes gene P450scc and estrogen receptor expression level increased. The FSH receptor decreased in heat-stressed quails. MetaboAnalyst analysis indicated that high temperature affects propanoate metabolism, beta-alanine metabolism, aspartate metabolism, and histidine metabolism. Triglyceride and cholesterol levels in the liver increased in the heated group. The heated group also had an increased mRNA expression of AGPAT5, apoptosis gene caspase3, and the immunocytokine genes IL-6 and TLR4. However, NF-?B gene expression decreased. These results suggest that high temperatures affect lipid metabolism and apoptosis and cause inflammation in the liver. High temperature induced ovarian dysfunction, which resulted in the decline of hierarchical follicle number and weight, egg weight, and chick birth weight. The increased level of 17?-estradiol suggests liver damage. Protecting liver function from damage may assist quails cope in summer.

SUBMITTER: Pu S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7598027 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The relation between liver damage and reproduction in female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) exposed to high ambient temperature.

Pu Shaoxia S Usuda Kento K Nagaoka Kentaro K Gore Andrea A Crews David D Watanabe Gen G

Poultry science 20200620 9

Reproductive failure associated with heat stress is a well-known phenomenon in poultry. High temperatures also induce various metabolic disturbances in many animals. Because the liver plays a central role in metabolism, the present study aimed to clarify the relationship between liver and reproduction in Japanese quails exposed to high temperatures. In the consecutive 20-D experimental period, quails were treated with 25°C (control) or 34°C (heat) from 12:00 to 16:00. Eggs were collected for hat ...[more]

PMID: 32868003

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Project description:A strategy to mitigate the negative effects of stress on animals is to enhance their ability to beneficially respond to stressful conditions. This study aimed to assess whether prenatal ambient temperature influences the response of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) chicks to environmental challenges during growth. The experiment was conducted in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement: two temperature conditions for the mothers (thermoneutral and heat stress by continuous exposure to 32 °C) and two offspring ambient temperature conditions (thermoneutral and heat stress by intermittent exposure to 34 °C for 6 h/day from 15 to 35 days of age). Heat stress in mothers led to lower laying rate, egg mass, expression of methionine sulfoxide reductase A (MSRA) gene, and antioxidant capacity as well as higher chick mortality rate (1-15 days of age). Maternal heat stress led to lower weight gain and total antioxidant capacity and higher feed conversion ratio. Maternal temperature × Offspring temperature interaction effects were observed on carbonylated protein content and HSP70, GSS, and MSRA gene expression. It was observed that, for chicks hatched from heat-stressed mothers, exposure to heat stress led to higher carbonylated protein content and HSP70 expression than exposure to thermoneutral conditions. Maternal heat stress was also responsible for increasing GSS expression in chicks grown under thermoneutral conditions. Chicks hatched from non-stressed mothers and subjected to heat stress had higher MSRA expression compared to chicks maintained in a thermoneutral environment. Our results show that, although maternal heat stress had no negative effects on performance or oxidative metabolism of offspring grown under thermoneutral conditions, it was associated with lower performance and higher protein oxidation in offspring exposed to heat stress during growth. These results could be due in part to alterations in the expression of genes related to antioxidant capacity.

Project description:At higher latitudes, vertebrates exhibit a seasonal cycle of reproduction in response to changes in day-length, referred to as photoperiodism. Extended day-length induces thyroid-stimulating hormone in the pars tuberalis of the pituitary gland. This hormone triggers the local activation of thyroid hormone in the mediobasal hypothalamus and eventually induces gonadal development. In avian species, light information associated with day-length is detected through photoreceptors located in deep-brain regions. Within these regions, the expressions of multiple photoreceptive molecules, opsins, have been observed. However, even though the Japanese quail is an excellent model for photoperiodism because of its robust and significant seasonal responses in reproduction, a comprehensive understanding of photoreceptors in the quail brain remains undeveloped. In this study, we initially analyzed an action spectrum using photoperiodically induced expression of the beta subunit genes of thyroid-stimulating hormone in quail. Among seven wavelengths examined, we detected maximum sensitivity of the action spectrum at 500 nm. The low value for goodness of fit in the alignment with a template of retinal1-based photopigment, assuming a spectrum associated with a single opsin, proposed the possible involvement of multiple opsins rather than a single opsin. Analysis of gene expression in the septal region and hypothalamus, regions hypothesized to be photosensitive in quail, revealed mRNA expression of a mammal-like melanopsin in the infundibular nucleus within the mediobasal hypothalamus. However, no significant diurnal changes were observed for genes in the infundibular nucleus. Xenopus-like melanopsin, a further isoform of melanopsin in birds, was detected in neither the septal region nor the infundibular nucleus. These results suggest that the mammal-like melanopsin expressed in the infundibular nucleus within the mediobasal hypothalamus could be candidate deep-brain photoreceptive molecule in Japanese quail. Investigation of the functional involvement of mammal-like melanopsin-expressing cells in photoperiodism will be required for further conclusions.

Project description:The social environment can have profound effects on an individual's physiology and behaviour and on the transfer of resources to the next generation, with potential consequences for fecundity and reproduction. However, few studies investigate all of these aspects at once. The present study housed female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) in pairs or groups to examine the effects on hormone concentrations in plasma and yolk and on reproductive performance. Circulating levels of androgens (testosterone and 5-α-dihydrotestosterone) and corticosterone were measured in baseline samples and after standardised challenges to assess the responsiveness of the females' endocrine axes. Effects of the social environment on female fecundity were analysed by measuring egg production, egg mass, fertilization rates, and number of hatched offspring. Counter to expectation, females housed in pairs had higher plasma androgen concentrations and slightly higher corticosterone concentrations than females housed in groups, although the latter was not statistically significant. Pair vs. group housing did not affect the females' hormonal response to standardised challenges or yolk testosterone levels. In contrast to previous studies, the females' androgen response to a gonadotropin-releasing hormone challenge was not related to yolk testosterone levels. Non-significant trends emerged for pair-housed females to have higher egg-laying rates and higher fertility, but no differences arose in egg weight or in the number, weight or size of hatchlings. We propose that our unexpected findings are due to differences in the adult sex ratio in our social treatments. In pairs, the male may stimulate female circulating hormone levels more strongly than in groups where effects are diluted due to the presence of several females. Future studies should vary both group size and sex composition to disentangle the significance of sexual, competitive and affiliative social interactions for circulating and yolk hormone levels, and their consequences for subsequent generations.

Dataset Information

The relation between liver damage and reproduction in female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) exposed to high ambient temperature.

Publications

The relation between liver damage and reproduction in female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) exposed to high ambient temperature.

Similar Datasets

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