Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Photoperiodic activation of Fos-like immunoreactive protein in neurones within the tuberal hypothalamus of Japanese quail

  • Original Papers
  • Published:
Journal of Comparative Physiology A Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Photoperiodic stimulation of quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) resulted in the appearance of a nuclear fos-like protein within neurones of the basal tuberal hypothalamus. On transfer to long days the number of neurones containing this fos-like immunoreactivity increased from about 150 to 700, the neurones being scattered throughout the length of the tubero-infundibular complex. This activation had occurred by early in the second long day and was maintained for at least three long days. Over this period circulating levels of LH increased seven-fold, indicating that photoperiodic induction had taken place in the birds. A similar time-course of fos-like induction occurred in castrated quail exposed to a single long day and then returned to short days. Activation mirrored the long-term changes in LH secretion found in this paradigm and fos-like immunoreactivity showed the same “carry-over” characteristics of photoperiodic induction, being maximal two days after the quail had been exposed to the single long day (and were again on short days) and when LH secretion was at its maximum. Activation of fos-like immunoreactive cells did not take place when long-day quail were transferred to short photoperiods. The evidence supports the view that the neurones being activated are involved in a specific fashion in the avian photoperiodic response.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baum MJ, Everitt BJ (1992) Increased expression of c-fos in the medial preoptic area after mating in male rats: role of afferent inputs from the medial amygdala and mid brain central tegmental field. Neuroscience 50: 627–646

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassone VM (1988) Circadian variation of [14C] 2-deoxyglucose uptake within the SCN of the house sparrow, Passer domesticus. Brain Res 459: 178–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassone VM, Moore RY (1987) Retinohypothalamic projection and the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the house sparrow, Passer domesticus. J Comp Neurol 266: 171–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen DR, Curran T (1988) FRA-1: a serum inducible, cellular immediate early gene that encodes a fos-related antigen. Mol Cell Biol 8: 2063–2069

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies DT (1980) The neuroendocrine control of gonadotrophin release in Japanese quail. III. The role of the tuberal and anterior hypothalamus in the control of ovarian development and ovulation. Proc R Soc Lond B 206: 421–437

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies DT, Follett BK (1975) The neuroendocrine control of gonadotrophin release in Japanese quail. I. The role of the tuberal hypothalamus. Proc R Soc Lond B 191: 303–315

    Google Scholar 

  • Dragunow M, Robertson HA (1988) Brain injury induces c-fos protein(s) in nerve and glial-like cells in adult mammalian brain. Brain Res 455: 295–299

    Google Scholar 

  • Dragunow M, Faull R (1989) The use of c-fos as a metabolic marker in neuronal pathway tracing. J Neurosci Meth 29: 261–265

    Google Scholar 

  • Follett BK, Nicholls TJ (1985) The photoneuroendocrine response in quail: a model for analysing the control of gonadogrophin secretion. In: Kobayashi et al. (eds) Neurosecretion and the biology of neuropeptides. Jpn Sci Soc Press Tokyo/Springer Berlin, pp 512–517

    Google Scholar 

  • Follett BK, Pearce-Kelly AS (1991) Photoperiodic induction in quail as a function of the period of the light dark-cycle: implications for models of time measurement. J Biol Rhythms 6: 331–341

    Google Scholar 

  • Follett BK, Scanes CG, Cunningham FJ (1972) A radioimmunoassay for avian luteinizing hormone. J Endocrinol 52: 359–378

    Google Scholar 

  • Follett BK, Davies DT, Gledhill B (1977) Photoperiodic control of reproduction in Japanese quail: changes in gonadotrophin secretion on the first day of induction and their pharmacological blockade. J Endocrinol 74: 449–460

    Google Scholar 

  • Follett BK, Kumar V, Juss TS (1992) Circadian nature of the photoperiodic clock in Japanese quail. J Comp Physiol A 171: 533–540

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster RG, Follett BK (1985) The involvement of a rhodopsin-like photopigment in the photoperiodic response of the Japanese quail. J Comp Physiol A 157: 519–528

    Google Scholar 

  • Fujiwara KT, Ashida K, Nishima H, Iba H, Miyajima N, Nishizawa M, Kawai S (1987) The chicken c-fos gene: cloning and nucleotide sequence analysis. J Virol 61: 4012–4018

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamner WM (1963) Diurnal rhythms and photoperiodism in testicular recrudescence of the house finch. Science 142: 1294–1295

    Google Scholar 

  • Hand DJ, Taylor CC (1987) Multivariate analysis of variance and repeated measures. Chapman and Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Henninghausen L, Lubon H (1987) Interaction of protein with DNA in vitro. Methods Enzymol 152: 721–735

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman GE, Lee WS, Attardi B, Yann V, Fitzsimmons MD (1990) Luteinizing hormone releasing hormone neurones express c-fos antigen after steroid activation. Endocrinology 126: 1736–1741

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson L, Sharp FR, Dallman MF (1990) Induction of fos-like immunoractivity in hypothalamic neurons after adrenalectomy in the rat. Endocrinology 126: 1709–1719

    Google Scholar 

  • Juss TS (1993) Neuroendocrine and neural changes associated with the photoperiodic control of reproduction. In: Sharp PJ (ed) Avian endocrinology. Soc Endocrinol, Bristol, pp 47–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Juss TS, Davies IR, Follett BK, Mason R (1994) Circadian rhythm in neuronal discharge activity in the quail's lateral hypothalamic retinorecipient nucleus (LHRN) recorded vitro. J Physiol (Lond) 132P

  • Juss TS, Meddle SL, Servant RS, King VM (1993) Melatonin and photoperiodic time measurement in Japanese quail (Coturnix c. japonica). Proc R Soc Lond B 254: 21–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Koibuchi N, Gibbs RB, Suzuki M, Pfaff DW (1991) Thyroidectomy induces fos-like immunoreactivity within thyrotrophinreleasing hormone-expressing neurones located in the paraventricular nucleus of the adult rat hypothalamus. Endocrinology 129: 3208–3216

    Google Scholar 

  • Konishi H, Foster RG, Follett BK (1987) Evidence for a daily rhythmicity in the acute release of LH in response to electrical stimulation in the Japanese quail. J Comp Physiol A 161: 315–319

    Google Scholar 

  • Kornhauser JM, Nelson DE, Mayo KE, Takahashi JS (1990) Photoperiodic and circadian regulation of c-fos gene expression in the hamster suprachiasmatic nucleus. Neuron 5: 127–134

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuenzel WJ, Masson M (1988) A stereotaxic atlas of the brain of the chick (Gallus domesticus). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore London, p 166

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar V, Follett BK (1993) The circadian nature of melatonin secretion in Japanese quail. J Pin Res 14: 192–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Meddle SL, Follett BK, Hall MR (1992) Photoperiodically activated neurones within the basal hypothalamus of the Japanese quail. Fifth Int Symp Avian Endocrinology, (ISBN 0 7084 05185) Edinburgh, Abstr P83

  • Morgan JI, Cohan DR, Hempstead JL (1987) Mapping patterns of c-fos expression in the central nervous system after seizure. Science 237: 192–197

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls TJ, Follett BK, Robinson JE (1983) A photoperiodic response in gonadectomized quail exposed to a single long day. J Endocrinol 97: 121–126

    Google Scholar 

  • Norgren RB, Silver R (1989a) Retinal projections in quail (Coturnix coturnix). Visual Neurosci 3: 377–387

    Google Scholar 

  • Norgren RB, Silver R (1989b) Retinohypothalamic projections and the suprachiasmatic nucleus in birds. Brain Behav Evol 34: 73–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohta M, Homma K (1987) Detection of neural connections to the infundibular complex by partial or complete hypothalamic deafferentation in male quail. Gen Comp Endocrinol 68: 286–292

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohta M, Wada M, Homma K (1984) Induction of rapid testicular growth in quail by phasic electrical stimulation of the hypothalamic photosensitive area. J Comp Physiol A 154: 583–589

    Google Scholar 

  • Oksche A (1980) Structural organization of avian neuroendocrine systems. In: Tanabe Y, Tanaka K, Ookawa T (eds) Biological rhythms in birds. JSPS Tokyo, Springer Berlin, pp 3–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Oksche A (1983) Reflections on the structural basis of avian neuroendocrine systems. In: Mikami S, Homma K, Wada M (eds) Avian endocrinology. JSPS Tokyo, Springer Berlin, pp 3–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliver J, Baylé JD (1982) Brain photoreceptors for the photo-induced testicular response in birds. Experientia 38: 1021–1029

    Google Scholar 

  • Perera AD, Follett BK (1992) Photoperiodic induction vitro: the dynamics of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone release from hypothalamic explants of the Japanese quail. Endocrinology 131: 2898–2908

    Google Scholar 

  • Pognonec P, Kato H, Roeder RG (1992) The helix-loop-helix/le ucine repeat transcription factor USF can be functionally regulated in a redox-dependent manner. J Biol Chem 34: 24563–24567

    Google Scholar 

  • Rea MA (1989) Light increases fos-related protein immunoreactivity in the rat SCN. Brain Res Bull 23: 577–581

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson JE, Follett BK (1982) Photoperiodism in Japanese quail: the termination of seasonal breeding by photorefractoriness. Proc R Soc Lond B 215: 95–116

    Google Scholar 

  • Rusak B, Robertson HA, Wisden W, Hunt SP (1990) Light pulses that shift rhythm induce gene expression in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Science 248: 1237–1240

    Google Scholar 

  • Sagar SM, Sharp FR (1990) Light induces a fos-like nuclear antigen in retinal neurones. Mol Brain Res 57: 17–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Sagar SM, Sharp FR, Curran T (1988) Expression of c-fos protein in brain: metabolic mapping at the cellular level. Science 240: 1328–1331

    Google Scholar 

  • Saiovici MS, Nicholls TJ, Follett BK (1987) Rapid photoperiodic responses in Japanese quail: is daylength measurement based on a circadian system? J Biol Rhythms 2: 139–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp FR, Sagar SM, Hicks K, Lowenstein D, Hisanaga K (1991) C-fos mRNA, fos, and fos-related antigen induction by hypertonic saline and stress. J Neurosci 11 (8): 2321–2331

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp PJ, Follett BK (1968) The distribution of monoamines in the hypothalamus of the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Z Zellforsch 90: 240–262

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp PJ, Follett BK (1969) The effect of hypothalamic lesions on gonadotrophin release in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Neuroendocrinology 5: 205–218

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp PJ, Li Q, Lea RW, Talbot RT, Huskisson NS (1992) Identification of hypothalamic neurones involved in osmoregulation using c-fos immunocytochemistry in hens, ring doves, Japanese quail and zebra finches. Fifth Int Symp Avian Endocrinology (ISBN 0 7084 05185), Edinburgh, Abstr P56

  • Sheng M, Greenberg ME (1990) The regulation and function of c-fos and other immediate early genes in the nervous system. Neuron 4: 477–485

    Google Scholar 

  • Silver R, Witkovsky P, Horvath P, Alones V, Barnstable CJ, Lehman MN (1988) Co-expression of opsin- and VIP-like immunoreactivity in CSF-containing neurones of the avian brain. Cell Tissue Res 253: 189–198

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonnenberg JL, Mitchelmore C, Macgregor-Leon PF, Hemstead J, Morgan JI, Curran T (1989a) Glutamate receptor agonists increase the expression of fos, FRA and AP-1 DNA binding activity in the mammalian brain. J Neurosci Res 24: 72–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonnenberg JL, Macgregor-Leon PF, Curran T, Morgan JI (1989b) Dynamic alterations occur in the levels and composition of transcription factor AP-1 complexes after seizure. Neuron 3: 359–365

    Google Scholar 

  • SPSS Inc (1988) SPSS Users' guide. 3rd edn. SPSS Inc, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Stetson MH (1972) Hypothalamic regulation of testicular function in Japanese quail. Z Zellforsch 130: 389–410

    Google Scholar 

  • Trowbin H, Stachelin T, Gordon J (1979) Electrophoretic transfer of proteins from polyacrylamide gels to nitrocellulose sheets: procedure and some applications. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 76: 4350–4354

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wada M (1974) Blockade of photoperiodically-induced testicular growth by hypothalamic deafferentation in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Comp Endocrinol 24: 113–120

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. B. K. Follett (Vice-Chancellor)

    Present address: University of Warwick, CV4 7AL, Coventry, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. BBSRC Group on Photoperiodism & Reproduction, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, BS8 1UG, Bristol, UK

    S. L. Meddle & B. K. Follett (Vice-Chancellor)

Authors
  1. S. L. Meddle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. B. K. Follett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Meddle, S.L., Follett, B.K. Photoperiodic activation of Fos-like immunoreactive protein in neurones within the tuberal hypothalamus of Japanese quail. J Comp Physiol A 176, 79–89 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00197754

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00197754

Key words

Search

Navigation