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Thyroxine can mimic photoperiodically induced gonadal growth in Japanese quail

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Summary

Pharmacological doses of thyroxine are able to mimic the effects of long photoperiods in Japanese quail. In birds maintained on short daylengths thrice-weekly injections of 100 μg thyroxine cause full testicular maturation at rates not greatly different from those seen if quail are exposed to long days. Thyroxine stimulates increases in the secretion of FSH and LH, in pituitary prolactin content and in the hypothalamic content of Gn-RH. The effects are dose-dependent. If female quail kept on short daylengths are given thyroxine their ovaries develop and they lay eggs. In castrated male quail on short days thyroxine causes a ten-fold increase in circulating LH within a week. Thyroxine injections are also capable of maintaining quail in a photorefractory state even when they are transferred to short daylengths. The results suggest that thyroxine mimics long days by acting high in the photoneuroendocrine system and does not simply act to facilitate hormone secretion per se. This is in line with growing evidence in mammals and birds that parts of the photoperiodic machinery are sensitive to thyroid hormones.

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Abbreviations

Gn-RH :

gonadotropin releasing hormone

FSH :

follicle stimulating hormone

LH :

luteinizing hormone

T 4 :

thyroxine

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. AFRC Group on Photoperiodism & Reproduction, Department of Zoology, University of Bristol, BS8 1UG, Bristol, UK

    B. K. Follett, T. J. Nicholls & C. R. Mayes

Authors
  1. B. K. Follett
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  2. T. J. Nicholls
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  3. C. R. Mayes
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Follett, B.K., Nicholls, T.J. & Mayes, C.R. Thyroxine can mimic photoperiodically induced gonadal growth in Japanese quail. J Comp Physiol B 157, 829–835 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00691015

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