Meeting Abstract

P2.88  Monday, Jan. 5  Mechanisms of maternal yolk corticosterone action in developing Japanese quail REED, Wendy L.; North Dakota State University wendy.reed@ndsu.edu

Evidence from a wide variety of species indicates that exposure to maternal steroids during development can have long-lasting effects on offspring phenotypes. Maternally derived corticosterone in avian eggs influences the development and function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis later in life, however, the developmental mechanisms by which maternal steroids act are elusive. I injected Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) eggs either with corticosterone (9 ng) or an oil vehicle prior to incubation and evaluated mRNA expression of the SF-1 receptor in 3.5 d old embryos using quantitative RT-PCR. Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) is an orphan nuclear receptor that plays a critical role in gonad development and differentiation as well as normal adrenal development and function. Elevated corticosterone in eggs significantly decreases SF-1 expression relative to vehicle-treated controls prior to gonad or adrenal gland development in the embryo. These results indicate that maternal steroids may have organizational effects on developmental processes that occur very early in development, prior to the embryos own production of steroids.