Retrograde flow of urine from cloaca to caeca in laying hens in relation to different levels of nitrogen intake

Retrograde flow of urine into the caeca provides a more efficient recovery of nutrients and supplies a nitrogen source for the caecal microbes. 30 laying hens of Leghorn type were used in the present experiments. Hens were randomly divided into three treatment groups and fed a high nitrogen (19.8% crude protein in dry matter), medium (15.0% crude protein in dry matter), or low (10.6% crude protein in dry matter) isocaloric diet for fourteen days prior to and during the experimental period (8 h). Results from the study show that the retrograde flow of urine from cloaca to caeca is significantly higher in birds given a low protein diet compared to medium or high levels. It also shows that the produced amount of urine is significantly higher in hens given a low protein diet compared to the medium level diet.

Effect of salt and water balance on colonic motility of white leghorn roosters

The motility of the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract of white leghorn roosters was observed by radiographic methods. Intracolonic pressure changes were recorded, and the mechanical activity of the colon was quantified using strain gauges that were attached to the serosa. Two types of retrograde contraction waves were observed: small fast peristaltic contractions (15 min-1) and large slow contractions. The small fast contractions are the actual vehicle of the retrograde movement, but they seemed to be linked to respiratory movements in the fashion of coupled oscillators during most of their activity time (94%). This makes them an unlikely target for regulation. The large slow waves (3 min-1) probably reflect contractions of the longitudinal musculature. They are retrograde and may permit or modulate the refluxing of urine. The effects of water deprivation, intravenous volume, and salt loads on colonic motility were analyzed. All manipulations that increased urine flow rates without changing urine osmolality resulted in increased propagation speed of the large contraction waves. All manipulations that increased urine osmolality resulted in decreases in activity time of the large-wave pattern. These results suggest a hydration state-related control of the retrograde colonic motility in birds. Direct stimulation of central osmoreceptors had no such effects, indicating that local volume and osmolality receptors of the cloaca are more important than central receptors for this adjustment of colonic motility.

Current-noise analysis of Na absorption in the embryonic coprodeum: stimulation by aldosterone and thyroxine

The mechanism and regulation of sodium transport in the embryonic coprodeum of chicken were investigated with isolated epithelia in vitro by electrophysiological techniques. Electrogenic sodium transport (INa) was measured in Ussing chambers by the short-circuit current (Isc) technique and identified by the diuretic amiloride or by removal of sodium from the apical medium. Apical sodium channels and the kinetics of amiloride binding were investigated by current-noise analysis. Isc and INa were measured under control conditions and under the influence of in vitro incubation with aldosterone and thyroxine. At 20 days the embryonic coprodeum has an Isc of 12.6 +/- 1.4 microA/cm2 and a transepithelial resistance of 519 +/- 40 omega.cm2. Amiloride blocks 9.0 +/- 1.3 microA/cm2 of the Isc, which represents electrogenic Na+ absorption and can be inhibited by serosal ouabain. Aldosterone does not stimulate Isc or INa, whereas thyroxine increases Isc and INa about threefold. Aldosterone in combination with thyroxine increases Isc and INa further to about five- to sixfold. In both cases the hormonal stimulation can be totally blocked by spironolactone. Current-noise analysis of the apical Na+ entry step reveals amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels with a single-channel current of approximately 2.3 pA and a channel density of 9-16 million/cm2 under stimulated conditions. Half-maximal amiloride block occurs at 0.8-1 microM. The hormones stimulate Na+ absorption by increasing the Na+ channel density and not the single-channel current.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Photoperiodism in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) with special reference to relative refractoriness

Cloacal gland (an androgen dependent sex accessory) of Japanese quail exhibits full breeding condition as long as these were maintained under long days (LD 16:8). When shifted to short daylength (LD 6:18), scotosensitivity (cloacal gland regression) was observed up to 5 weeks, followed by scotorefractoriness (cloacal gland development). There was a regression in cloacal gland volume of the birds when shifted to intermediate daylength (LD 13.5:10.5 and 13:11) after 12 weeks of exposure to long days (relative refractoriness) but no regression when shifted to relatively short days (< 14 hr) after 3 weeks of exposure to long daylength. Birds maintained under constant short photoperiod (LD 6:18) exhibited cyclicity. Shift experiments (quail reared and maintained under continuous light; LL, were shifted to LD 16:8, 13:11 and 8:16, similarly quail maintained under LD 16:8 were shifted to rest three photoperiods and so on) made to compare the cloacal gland responses indicated that if the difference between two photoperiods (previous and shifted one) was more the percentage of difference in cloacal gland response was also high. Short daylength (LD 8:16) was always gonadoinhibitory for the quail previously exposed to any daylength (13L, 16L or 24L) and 16L and 24L were always stimulatory for the quail previously exposed to other daylength (8L, 13L, 16L). But, when the birds were shifted to 13L, photoresponses cannot be generalized and it depends on the photoperiod to which quail were exposed previously (i.e. photoperiodic history).

Sexual approach conditioning: tests of unconditioned stimulus devaluation using hormone manipulations

Contents of learning that result from conditioned-unconditioned stimulus pairings in sexual approach conditioning were explored with male Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Sexual motivation of subjects conditioned to approach an arbitrary stimulus in a Pavlovian sexual conditioning paradigm was reduced by exposing them to a short photoperiod. Decreased sexual motivation resulted in a decline in sexually conditioned approach behavior (Experiments 1 and 2). Responding was restored when subjects were returned to a long photoperiod (Experiment 1) and when exogenous testosterone was administered (Experiment 2). Decreased sexual motivation did not affect food-conditioned approach behavior (Experiment 3). These results suggest that sexually conditioned approach behavior is mediated by a representation of the unconditioned stimulus, which is activated by the conditioned stimulus.

Effects of neurochemical lesions of the preoptic area on male sexual behavior in the Japanese quail

Two experiments were carried out during which the noradrenergic neurotoxin, 5-amino-2,4-dihydroxy-alpha-methylphenylethylamine (5-ADMP) was applied to the brain of quail in order to evaluate the role of the noradrenergic system in the control of male copulatory behavior. In the first experiment, the ICV injection of 5-ADMP slightly enhanced the sexual behavior observed in testosterone (T)-treated castrated male quail. This brings additional support to the notion that norepinephrine tonically inhibits male copulatory behavior in quail. In the second experiment, 5-ADMP implanted directly into the preoptic area disrupted the restoration by T of copulatory behavior in castrated quail and, at the same time, produced a brain lesion that partly destroyed the sexually dimorphic medial preoptic nucleus, a previously established site of T action on behavior. These lesions produced by a high (presumably too high) concentration of neurotoxin provided an independent confirmation of effects previously observed after electrolytic lesions. Correlation analyses also confirmed that the medial part of the POM just rostral to the anterior commissure is more closely associated with copulatory behavior and may, therefore, represent a key center for steroid action on this behavior.

Spermiophagy by the spermathecal epithelium of the salamander Eurycea cirrigera

The spermathecae of Eurycea cirrigera are exocrine glands in the cloaca that secrete a substance that bathes sperm stored in the lumen after mating and prior to oviposition. Many sperm remain in the spermathecae after oviposition, and the spermathecal epithelium becomes spermiophagic. Pseudopodia enclose sperm into endocytic vacuoles. The vacuoles become associated with primary lysosomes in the cytoplasm. Following formation of secondary lysosomes and resulting condensation of the sperm fragments, residual bodies are exocytized into the surrounding connective tissue stroma. By the start of the next breeding cycle, most sperm remaining from the previous mating have been degraded, but some sperm remain in the lumen, and the viability of these sperm is unknown.

Effects of α-methyl-para-tyrosine on monoamine levels in the japanese quail: Sex differences and testosterone effects

Experiments were performed to obtain more information on the regulation by steroids of catecholaminergic systems in the brain of Japanese quail. Dose-response and time-response experiments were first performed to determine optimal conditions for measuring turnover in the quail brain. The norepinephrine and dopamine turnover were then estimated in microdissected brain nuclei of birds that were either sexually mature or gonadectomized or gonadectomized and treated with testosterone. Two major facts that bear direct relationship with the control of masculine reproductive behavior were demonstrated. On one hand, the dopamine turnover in the medial preoptic nucleus, a sexually dimorphic brain structure which is critically implicated in the control of copulatory behavior was much higher in male than in female quail irrespective of the hormonal condition of the birds. On the other hand, norepinephrine concentrations appeared to be higher in several nuclei of the female brain by comparison with males. These sex differences might represent part of the causal factors that underlie the sex dimorphism in reproductive behavior in quail.

Molecular characterization of the Drosophila melanogaster urate oxidase gene, an ecdysone-repressible gene expressed only in the malpighian tubules

The urate oxidase (UO) gene of Drosophila melanogaster is expressed during the third-instar larval and adult stages, exclusively within a subset of cells of the Malpighian tubules. The UO gene contains a 69-base-pair intron and encodes mature mRNAs of 1,224, 1,227, and 1,244 nucleotides, depending on the site of 3' endonucleolytic cleavage prior to polyadenylation. A direct repeat, 5'-AAGTGAGAGTGAT-3', is the proposed cis-regulatory element involved in 20-hydroxyecdysone repression of the UO gene. The deduced amino acid sequences of UO of D. melanogaster, rat, mouse, and pig and uricase II of soybean show 32 to 38% identity, with 22% of amino acid residues identical in all species. With use of P-element-mediated germ line transformation, 826 base pairs 5' and approximately 1,200 base pairs 3' of the D. melanogaster UO transcribed region contain all of the cis elements allowing for appropriate temporal regulation and Malpighian tubule-specific expression of the UO gene.

Electrophysiological and cable parameters of perfused beetle malpighian tubules

Isolated perfused Malpighian tubules of the desert beetle Onymacris plana (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) have been subjected to cable analysis under the following conditions: control, adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP), corpora cardiaca homogenate (CCH), and high ambient K (130 mM). In addition, we investigated possible effects of perfusate composition on proximal transtubular potential (Vo) by reducing K, Na, or Cl or by adding ouabain, furosemide, or dinitrophenol. The effects of cAMP, CCH, and high K on Vo and cable parameters were consistent with increased fluid secretion, i.e., diminished input and core resistances and increased virtual short-circuit current, length constant, and luminal diameter. They differed in that CCH had variable effects on Vo and high K did not reduce transepithelial resistance. In terms of their effects on the parameters of a simple equivalent electrical circuit, the responses to cAMP, CCH, and a high ambient K concentration appear to be mediated by different mechanisms. Alterations in perfusate composition were almost without effect.

Leucokinins, a new family of ion transport stimulators and inhibitors in insect Malpighian tubules

Leucokinins are octapeptides isolated from heads of the cockroach Leucophaea maderae. In the cockroach they increase motility of the isolated hindgut. Surprisingly, synthetic leucokinins have biological activity in a different insect and in a different tissue. In isolated Malpighian tubules of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti, leucokinins depolarize the transepithelial voltage. This effect on voltage is dependent on extracellular Cl. One leucokinin, LK-8, the effects of which were studied further in isolated Malpighian tubules, was found to inhibit transepithelial fluid secretion at low concentrations (10(-11) M threshold), and to stimulate fluid secretion at high concentrations (3.5 x 10(-9) M threshold). Together, the depolarizing effects on voltage and the stimulation of fluid secretion suggest that leucokinins increase the Cl permeability of the tubule wall thereby increasing the availability of Cl for secretion with Na, K and water. Structure-function comparisons of the seven leucokinins studied suggest that the active region of the octapeptide is segregated to the C-terminal pentapeptide. In view of the known effects of leucokinins on hindgut motility in the cockroach, our finding of effects in mosquito Malpighian tubules suggests that leucokinins may be widely distributed in insects where they may have diverse functions in a variety of organs.

Stimulation of sodium transport and fluid secretion by ouabain in an insect malpighian tubule

Ouabain, at all concentrations higher than 2 × 10(−7) mol l-1, stimulates the rate at which the Malpighian tubules of the insect, Rhodnius, transport sodium ions and fluid into the lumen. An effect on paracellular movement of sodium ions is unlikely because ouabain makes the electrical potential of the lumen more positive, which would slow diffusion of sodium into the lumen. Radioactive ouabain binds to the haemolymph-facing sides of the tubule cells but not to the luminal face. This binding is reduced in the presence of elevated levels of potassium or of non-radioactive ouabain. Bound ouabain is only slowly released on washing in ouabain-free saline. The evidence suggests that there is a Na+/K+-ATPase on the outer (serosal) membranes of the tubules. Such a pump would transport sodium in a direction opposed to the flow of ions and water involved in fluid transport; poisoning it with ouabain would remove this brake, and fluid flow and sodium transport would increase, as observed.

Contributions of the kidneys and intestines to water conservation, and plasma levels of antidiuretic hormone, during dehydration in house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

The contributions of the kidneys, the small intestine and the lower intestine (rectum plus cloaca) to water conservation during dehydration in unanaesthetized, unrestrained house sparrows (Passer domesticus) were assessed. Thirty hours of acute dehydration resulted in a 12% loss in body mass and a significant increase in plasma osmolality. Glomerular filtration rate declined by 55%, from 7.7 to 3.5 ml/h, and urine flow rate delined by more than 80%, from 0.2 to 0.03 ml/h. These changes are likely attributable to a large increase in plasma levels of arginine vasotocin during dehydration, from less than 26 pg/ml in hydrated birds to greater than 200 pg/ml after 30 h dehydration. Flow of water from the ileum to the lower intestine was reduced during dehydration, primarily because of a reduced flow of dry matter (with no significant reduction in water content). The rate of water loss in the excreta declined from 0.2 ml/h in hydrated birds to 0.04 ml/h in dehydrated birds. The rate of water reabsorption in the lower intestine (equal to the rate of water loss in the excreta minus the combined rates of inflow into the lower intestine from the urine and the ileal contents) slightly exceeded the rate of water flow from the ileum in both hydrated and dehydrated birds. We suggest that much of the water reabsorbed in the lower intestine of hydrated birds derives from the urine, but that primarily water from ileal contents is reabsorbed in dehydrated birds. That is, urine undergoes significant post-renal modification in hydrated but not dehydrated house sparrows.

Transepithelial and intracellular potentials in isolated Malpighian tubules of tenebrionid beetle

Malpighian tubules of Onymacris plana (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) have been isolated for measurement of transepithelial and intracellular potentials, before and during stimulation of fluid secretion. In a bathing medium resembling the hemolymph composition of the insect, the transepithelial potential (VT) was approximately 13 mV, lumen positive. VT was subject to drift and frequently showed super-imposed regular oscillations, which were apparently action potentials associated with contractions of muscle fibers running along the tubules. Although tubules of Onymacris are approximately 8 cm long, the basal membrane potential (Vb) did not vary with distance along the tubule, averaging -31 mV. Addition of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) or diuretic hormone (DH) homogenate to the bathing medium had no effect on Vb, but opposing effects on VT: cAMP caused it to increase to 60 mV, whereas DH homogenate caused a rapid drop in VT to almost zero. Ion substitutions in the bathing medium showed that under control conditions beetle tubules possessed appreciable basal permeability to both K and Cl ions, with a 10-fold reduction in bath K concentration hyperpolarizing Vb by 54 mV. The basal K and Cl channels were partially blocked by barium and thiocyanate ions, respectively. Stimulation with cAMP increased the apical membrane potential (Va) and significantly reduced the Cl permeability of the basal membrane, whereas its Na permeability remained negligible.

Transport of sperm within the cloaca of the female red-spotted newt

The transport of sperm in the cloaca and adjacent regions of the female red-spotted newt was examined. It was found that within 1 min after sperm were introduced into the vent, they progressed in a random pattern past the apertures of the spermatheca (the glandular, sperm storage organ that opens from the anterior roof of the cloaca) forward to the anterior end of the cloaca and on into the posterior regions of the hindgut and bladder. Sperm did not enter the dorsal recess of the cloaca into which the oviducts and ureters open. After 1 day, few sperm remained within the cloaca lumen. Sperm were not transported into the cloacae of artificially inseminated, anesthetized females without prior administration of norepinephrine to their cloacal mounds. Treatment of the cloacal mounds of naturally inseminated females with an antagonist of neuromuscular transmission (lidocaine) decreased the numbers of sperm in the anterior cloaca relative to those of saline-injected control specimens. Neither dead newt sperm nor live rabbit sperm entered the spermatheca. Rabbit sperm, however, entered the oviduct. It is argued that passive and active mechanisms of sperm transport work in concert. Contractions of smooth muscle, which may be initiated during courtship, probably serve to draw sperm passively into the cloaca and up to and beyond the apertures of spermathecal tubules, but sperm, once in the vicinity of those apertures, probably swim actively into them.

Biological parameters in Japanese quail genetically selected for resistance or sensitivity to an acute hypoxic survival

Various biological parameters were measured in two strains of Japanese quail selected for their resistance (Ls+) or susceptibility (Ls-) to an acute normobaric hypoxic challenge. Adults of these two strains showed very little or no significant differences concerning body weights, carbon dioxide emission, photoperiodic (L----D and D----L) respiratory reactions, cloacal temperatures, heart rates and ECG QRSII amplitudes, red blood cell data, hemoglobin electrophoresis, and plasma corticosterone (before and after an hypoxic challenge). Enzymatic capacities of phosphofructo-and pyruvate kinases, of glucose-6-phosphatase, lactico- and malate-dehydrogenases, measured in brains and hearts, showed but few statistically significant differences. Changing societal contacts did not suppress the differences of acute hypoxic survival between the two strains. Several statistically significant differences which concern reproduction and eggs, and especially egg laying and egg water vapor conductance were noted between the two strains.

Osmotic and ionic regulation during dehydration in a large bird, the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae): an important role for the cloaca-rectum

The emu, a large (40 kg) flightless bird, has low water requirements yet it has a limited ability to produce concentrated urine. To clarify the factors involved in excretion and water conservation by the emu the patterns of excretion during water restriction were examined. Additionally, kidney function was studied, as also was the role of the cloaca and rectum in the final modification of excreta. Following water restriction the osmolality of the excreta fluid increased to a maximum level at 6 d of 428 +/- 39(8) mosmol (mean +/- S.E.M. (n)), the urine to plasma ratio being 1.35 +/- 0.12(8). In normally hydrated birds almost all Na and Cl were excreted in the fluid fraction but a third of the K was associated with the solid fraction of the excreta. After water restriction for 9 d the pattern of excretion of K did not change but the majority of Na (79%) and Cl (73%) were excreted in the solid phase, possibly associated with urates. In ureteral urine most of the nitrogen was excreted as uric acid or urates; a large fraction, 36 +/- 4(4)%, was not identified. The glomerular filtration rate (G.F.R.) was 41.3 +/- 2.2(6) ml/kg.h. This value is low when compared with other birds and may be related to the large size of the emu. The G.F.R. decreased by 30% after 7 d water restriction. The cloaca-rectum appears to play a major role in the modification of excreta. In vivo perfusion studies showed transepithelial net transport rates of water and major electrolytes to be large. Transport of water from an isosmotic solution, 3.36 +/- 0.17 ml/kg.h, was approximately 10 times the maximum value reported for birds previously. The Na and Cl transport rates were also comparatively high.

The mechanism of the ejection of a frothy fluid from the cloaca in the male turkey

The mechanism of the ejection of a frothy fluid from the "tissue at the vicinity of the papilla" (TVP) of the ductus deferens and triangular fold (TF) of the cloaca of the male turkey during natural copulation was investigated. Injection of Evans blue (T-1824) solution into the wing vein of the intact male led to the ejection, immediately after injection, of frothy fluid colored blue. Ligation of the A. pudenda interna decreased the volume of fluid to a negligible amount, and removal of the paracloacal vascular body (Corpus vasculare paracloacale) completely suppressed the tumescence of the copulatory organ and the flow of the fluid (lymph-like fluid). Evans blue solution, introduced into the A. pudenda interna of dissected cloacal specimens, exuded out from the TVP but not from the lymphatic folds (plicae lymphaticae). Injection of dye solution into the paracloacal vascular body elicited only the erection of the phallus, and none flowed out from the surface of the lymphatic folds. Also, no ejection of the injected dye solution into the A. pudenda interna was found in the dorsal wall of the cloaca, particularly from the TF. The results suggest that lymph generated in the paracloacal vascular body caused only the tumescence of the copulatory organ and a lymph generated in the TVP exuded through the surface epithelium. In addition, a foam (froth) is produced in the TF of the middorsal proctodeum during mounting behavior which appears to be added to the aforementioned lymph from the TVP at copulation.

Volume, sperm concentration, and fertilizing capacity of turkey ejaculates obtained from successive cloacal strokes during semen collection

Ejaculate fractions (EF), obtained as the ejaculate from each of four successive cloacal strokes (EF1, EF2, EF3, and EF4, respectively), were collected manually by abdominal massage from Large White breeder turkeys. Semen volume and sperm concentration were the greatest for EF 1 and decreased with each successive fraction. Ejaculate Fraction 1 and EF (1 + 2) represented 50 and 79% of the total sperm collected, respectively. Approximately 6, 9, 10, and 11 hens could each be inseminated with 200 X 10(6) sperm from semen collected from each male using EF1, EF (1 + 2), EF (1 + 2 + 3), and EF (1 + 2 + 3 + 4), respectively. There were no differences in duration of fertility, percentage fertility, or percentage hatchability of eggs from hens inseminated with semen from EF1, EF3, and pooled control semen samples.

Conspecific odor detection by the male broad-headed skink, Eumeces laticeps: effects of sex and site of odor source and of male reproductive condition

Olfactory stimuli are sufficient for detection and discrimination of sex of conspecific lizards by the male broad-headed skink, Eumeces laticeps, a member of a large group of lizards with pronounced chemosensory abilities, the Autarchoglossa. The capacity of male broad-headed skinks to detect conspecific odors was assessed by measuring tongue extrusion rates in response to odor stimuli presented on moist cotton applicators. Tongue-flick rates of postreproductive males were significantly higher for cloacal odors of postreproductive conspecifics of both sexes than to distilled water and higher to female than male odors over the initial 20- and 60-sec intervals. In a second experiment using testosterone-treated males and estrogen-injected females, testosterone-treated males emitted significantly more tongue flicks to female cloacal odors than to the other stimuli, and two males bit applicators bearing male odors. Testosterone did not affect reaction to male cloacal odors, but markedly increased tongue-flick rates in response to cloacal odors of estrogen-treated females. Postreproductive males also responded to female, but not male, skin odors at a significantly higher rate than to water. Possible sources and presumed adaptive significance of conspecific odors are discussed.

Locust diuretic hormone-stimulated synthesis and excretion of cyclic-AMP: a novel Malpighian tubule bioassay

Endogenous cyclic-AMP concentrations in Malpighian tubules of locusts increase as a result of diuretic hormone stimulation, and the level of increase is shown to be dependent on basal intracellular levels of cyclic-AMP. Furthermore, the increase in endogenous cyclic-AMP is in such excess as to cause excretion of high levels of cyclic-AMP in the urine.

Paracellular and transcellular routes for water and solute movements across insect epithelia

Because the frontal area of the intercellular clefts in Malpighian tubules is small, and the osmotic permeability of the cell membranes is large, the route for transepithelial water movement during fluid secretion is transcellular. Water movements appear to be a passive response to osmotic gradients of a few mosmol 1(−1) produced in the cells and in he lumen by active ion transport. The excretory functions of Malpighian tubules are discussed in relation to recent analyses of the routes of passive permeation for non-electrolytes. Uncharged molecules smaller than a disaccharide appear to move at significant rates through the cells whereas molecules as large as inulin traverse the epithelium by a paracellular path. In addition there are specific active transport mechanisms for a variety of organic molecules. The routes and mechanisms proposed for water and solute movements are discussed in relation to comparable studies in other epithelia.

Motor nerve conduction velocity in normal chickens

Muscle potentials evoked by proximal and distal tibial nerve stimulation were evaluated and used to calculate motor nerve conduction velocity in 65 chickens. Two potentials analogous to the M and F waves recorded in persons consistently were evoked. The mean tibial motor nerve conduction velocity +/- SD of the birds was 32.3 +/- 4.0 m/s. This value varied significantly (P less than 0.05) with both age and cloacal temperature.