Lead Poisoning of Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Abstract Body tissues from Japanese quail, which had received various amounts of lead in their diet, were investigated by atomic absorption spectrometry and transmission electron miscroscopy. A fine structural analysis was made of material fixed in either glutaraldehyde alone, or in glutaralde-hyde followed by post-fixation in osmic acid. Special attention was paid to the reproductive organs. Nuclear inclusion bodies characteristic of lead poisoning were found within the tubular epithelium of the kidney, within hepatocytes, the germinal epithelium of the male and follicle cells of the ovaries. The possibility that lead might bind to acidic nuclear proteins which influence specific gene regulation is suggested.