ASGSB 1998 Annual Meeting Abstracts

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CALCIUM UPTAKE BY QUAIL EMBRYOS INCUBATED IN SPACE.   J.I. Orban and P.Y. Hester. Dept. of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of space flight on mineral uptake (mineral utilization) from eggshells by Japanese quail embryos. Comparisons were made with results obtained from laboratory (LAB-1) and synchronous (SYN-1) controls conducted on earth corresponding to flight study period. The LAB-1 control eggs were incubated in a Lyon RX2 incubator at 37.5^o C with egg rotation occurring hourly. The SYN-1 eggs were also incubated in a Lyon RX2 incubator with hourly rotation, but the temperature was maintained at 39 ^o to 40 ^o C to simulate the temperature of the Slovakian incubator used during space flight. Both LAB-1 and SYN-1 eggs were incubated in a horizontal position. Neither of the two groups of eggs was subjected to launch dynamics (acoustics, vibrations or g-load). Eggs incubated in microgravity were not turned, but were free floating; therefore, random movement of eggs may have occurred. Embryos from flight, LAB-1, and SYN-1 were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde at 3, 7, 10, 14 and 16 days of incubation. Eggshells from the treatments were analyzed for calcium (Ca) content. Space flight embryos used less Ca (P<.02) from eggshells than LAB-1 and SYN-1 controls. Calcium uptake by embryos increased with age of incubation with the most increase occurring by the 16^th day of incubation. Calcium uptake by flight and SYN-1 embryos at day 16 was not different but was significantly less than the uptake from LAB-1 controls. Results showed that space flight impaired Ca uptake by quail embryos. However, it was not clear whether the impairment was due to factors other than microgravity since Ca uptake by synchronous (flight simulation) embryos did not differ from space flight embryos at day 16 of incubation.

(Supported by NASA (ARC): NAG 2-1001.)

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