Biomaterial Database

Seasonal changes in plasma retinol-binding holoprotein concentration in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). 1980

J Glover, and D J Heaf, and S Large

1. Seasonal changes in retinol-binding holoprotein (holoRBP) concentration in plasma of groups of male and female Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were examined over 18 months. 2. In Expts 1 and 2 the birds were maintained under natural lighting conditions and in Expt 3 under artificial-light photoperiods corresponding to the changing daylength at 56 degrees N latitude. All groups were at 18-20 degrees and received Superlayers' (Rank Hovis McDougall) pellet diet. 3. The mean plasma holoRBP concentration in all groups changed in an annual cycle with minimal values in September-October and maximal values in February-April, when daylength or light photoperiod increased to more than 10 h. 4. The group mean values in the female cycle change 2-3-fold from 50-100 microgram/ml in late summer to 220-280 microgram/ml in the spring, whereas in the male the range is only 1.3-1.5 times, from 140-170 to 180-250 microgram/ml. 5. In the female the rate of egg laying was maximal in April-May and lowest in November-December. 6. The spring increase in plasma holoRBP reflects the increased vitamin A requirement of birds for reproduction and it is presumably under hormonal control. The wider amplitude in the female cycle compared with the male probably arises from the additional demand for the transfer of vitamin A into the eggs and hence the need for a higher initial secretion rate from the female liver to meet it.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008029	Lighting	The illumination of an environment and the arrangement of lights to achieve an effect or optimal visibility. Its application is in domestic or in public settings and in medical and non-medical environments.	Illumination
D008297	Male		Males
D010058	Oviposition	The process of laying or shedding fully developed eggs (OVA) from the female body. The term is usually used for certain INSECTS or FISHES with an organ called ovipositor where eggs are stored or deposited before expulsion from the body.	Larviposition,Larvipositions,Ovipositions
D011784	Quail	Common name for two distinct groups of BIRDS in the order GALLIFORMES: the New World or American quails of the family Odontophoridae and the Old World quails in the genus COTURNIX, family Phasianidae.	Quails
D002645	Chickens	Common name for the species Gallus gallus, the domestic fowl, in the family Phasianidae, order GALLIFORMES. It is descended from the red jungle fowl of SOUTHEAST ASIA.	Gallus gallus,Gallus domesticus,Gallus gallus domesticus,Chicken
D003370	Coturnix	A genus of BIRDS in the family Phasianidae, order GALLIFORMES, containing the common European and other Old World QUAIL.	Japanese Quail,Coturnix japonica,Japanese Quails,Quail, Japanese,Quails, Japanese
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D012177	Retinol-Binding Proteins	Proteins which bind with RETINOL. The retinol-binding protein found in plasma has an alpha-1 mobility on electrophoresis and a molecular weight of about 21 kDa. The retinol-protein complex (MW	Retinoid Binding Protein,Retinol Binding Protein,Retinoid Binding Protein, F-Type,Retinoid Binding Proteins,Retinol Binding Proteins,Binding Protein, Retinoid,Binding Protein, Retinol,Binding Proteins, Retinoid,Binding Proteins, Retinol,Protein, Retinoid Binding,Protein, Retinol Binding,Retinoid Binding Protein, F Type