Embryonic Development and Behaviour of Japanese Quail Exposed to Microgravity

Abstract

Bocfa K., V. Sabo, M. Jurani, T. S. Guryeva, J. Kocisova, E. Kostal, A. Laukova, O. A. Dadasheva: Embryonic Development and Behaviour of Japanese Quail Expored to Microgravi~v. Acta vet. Bmo, 61, 1992: 99-107. .The effect of microgravity on the embryonic development of Japanese quail including hatching, the behaviour of newly hatched chickens and physiological functions of adult birds were studied. The feasibility of the entire embryonic development as well as hatching of quail in weightlessness was demonstrated. Priority data on sensory, motor and feeding behaviour of 1-to 4-day-old quail hatchlings as well as the behaviour of adult birds in microgravity were obtained. Under special conditions the quail were able to take food, but were generally Unable to adapt their motor activity to microgravity at any time during the experiment. Their movements were uncoordinated and chaotic, particularly so in chicks. After a 7-day exposure to microgravity hormone levels (estradiol, triiodthyronine, corticosterone) and Ca in mature quail were determined. Changes in reproductive functions were manifested by the arrest of egg production, dystrophy of ovaries and testes and a decreased testosterone level. The first data on the effects of microgravity on the enteric microflora were also obtained. Japanese quail, microgravity, embryogenesis, behaviour, hormones, enteric microbiologyThe establishment of biological systems utilizing animals to suppOfi the life of cosmonauts during long-term missions in orbital and planetary stations has become an object of the general study of cosmic biology (Shepelev 1975).The animals selected should have a higher heterotrophic link in the self-sustaining ecosystem and will be required to live and produce under conditions of microgravity. The first experimental goal to meet these criteria is to study the potencial for the avian mod~1. Due to its relatively low body mass and high performance converting feed to meat, the Japanese quail has been used (Boda 1979).Since 1973 a series of experiments was conducted in which biological as well as technological problems, aimed at the realization of flight experiments, were undertaken. These experiments included adaptation mechanisms of quail to changed gravity (Jurani et al. 1980) problems connected with overcoming stress caused by the transport to orbit (Peter et al. 1978), the effect of long-term hypodynamy on the performance and breeding of a line of quail resistant to hypodynamy (Jurani et al. 1988).Technological preconditions to study the entire reproductive cycle of the birds under the microgravity of Earth-orbital flight were provided by the construction and production of the devices incubator 1 (Sutek et al. 1984; Soucek et al. 1984), Incubator 1M and NEST (Maiek andZongor 1991).Results obtained in these experiments have become the starting point to study avian microgravity under real space flight conditions.Experiments were designed to determine the effect of microgravity on the embryonic development of Japanese quail including hatching, ...

Effect of Simulated Microgravity on Testosterone and Sperm Motility in Mice

“…Xenopus laevis was reported to develop normally in the clinostat (Smith and Neff, 1986), whereas in space, its eggs could be fertilized in vitro to produce offspring that showed slight, reversible abnormalities during an early phase after hatching, and grew into nearly normal tadpoles (Souza et al, 1995). In birds (quail), hatching and early development were reported to occur during a space trip (Boda et al, 1991). In mammals, the development of pups obtained by allowing male rats to mate after a space flight of 2.5–3 months on Biosatellite Cosmos 1129 in 1982 was delayed, and pups obtained from female rats that had a flight on a Space Shuttle at days 9–20 of pregnancy in 1996 grew normally, but reports concerning the effect of space flight on spermatogenic ability or sperm motility are still scarce and insufficient (Amann et al, 1992).…”

Enterococci Isolated from Japanese Quails Exposed to Microgravity Conditions and Stability of their Properties

“…In this programme many research issues were investigated and solved; e.g. the effect of microgravity on endocrine functions and adaptation processes (Juráni et al 1988), embryonic development (Boďa et al 1992) and/or morphological changes in the small intestine under space-flight conditions (Cigánková et al 2000). Moreover, in the framework of the Interkozmos programme-Incubator 2, firstly also microflora of Japanese quails exposed to microgravity conditions was analysed in comparison to conventional Japanese quails with an impact on lactic acid bacteria such as lactobacilli, enterococci and staphylococci (Lauková et al , 1993a(Lauková et al , 1995.…”

Effects of Centrifugal Gravity on the Fertilization and Early Development of Mammals.

“…Recent advancements in space development projects have made long-term and research in microgravity environments possible. Studies of animal reproduction in the space environment are done with insects [20], fish [21], amphibian [22] and birds [23]. These results suggest that animal reproduction in space is possible, but systematic experiments in space on mammalian reproduction are not found [24,25].…”