Cytological and Cytophotometric Analysis of Binucleated Red Blood Cell Mutants (bn) in Turkeys (MELEAGRIS GALLOPAVO).

INUCLEATED cells occur in a variety of tissues in plants and animals normally and under varying physiological conditions (e.g., anemia, stress, ageing, regeneration, malignancy and viral infection) (BLOOM 1968). Among animals, naturally occurring binucleated cells have been observed in organisms of the following classes: Protozoa, Nematoda, Crustacea, Arachnida, Insecta, Agnatha, Pisces, Amphibia, Aves and Mammalia. Binucleated red blood cells (BRBC’s) have been noted only in Pisces (African lungfish and trout) , Amphibia (Necturus, frog and Newt), Aves (turkey and chicken) and Mammalia (man). Genetic control of binucleated cell formation has been reported for E. coli (ADLER and HARDIGREE 1965; ADLER, FISHER and STAPLETON 1966) and the turkey (Buss 1965). One case reported in man may be genetically controlled ( WOLFF and VON HOFE 195 1 ) . A gene that uncouples the relation between the dividing macronucleus and the cleavage furrow in Paramecium aurelia was described by NOBILI (1961 ). Binucleated and anucleated cells were occasionally formed. Buss (1965) identified binucleated red blood cells in the peripheral blood of turkeys from six sources. These included birds of the black-winged bronze and bronze strains of turkeys. Later, Shearer bronze turkeys were found to have BRBC’s (BLOOM 1968). It was shown by BTJSS that this condition was inherited as an autosomal recessive gene designated bn. In adults, about eight percent of circulating red blood cells (RBC’s) were reported to have two nuclei. Amitosis or direct nuclear division has often been considered as the mechanism for the origin of binucleated cells (MARSHALL 1908; MACKLIN 1916; KATER 1940, 1951 ; HUGHES 1952; CLELAND 1961 ; LAPHAM 1962). However, several other studies have suggested that mitosis without cytokinesis produces binucleated cells (WOLFF and VON HOFE 1951 ; ALLEN 1962; GODINA, BARASA and TIZZANI 1966). Preliminary work on the effects of the bn gene mutation on cell division (BLOOM, Buss and STROTHER 1969) suggests that this gene causes some abnormality in mitosis that leads to the production of binucleated and other abnormal