As for most vertebrates, reproduction in poultry is controlled by an integrated axis [the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis]. External and internal cues are integrated at the level of the hypothalamus to initiate gonadal recruitment and control the subsequent reproductive cycle. Until recently, it was believed that the HPG was exclusively under stimulatory control from hypothalamic gonad...

The availability of tools for probing the genome and proteome more efficiently has allowed for the rapid discovery of novel genes and peptides that play important, previously uncharacterized roles in neuroendocrine regulation. In this review, the role of a class of neuropeptides containing the C-terminal Arg-Phe-NH(2) (RFamide) in regulating the reproductive axis will be highlighted. Neuropepti...

In many organisms, food availability is a proximate cue that synchronizes seasonal development of the reproductive system with optimal environmental conditions. Growth of the gonads and secondary sexual characteristics is orchestrated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. However, our understanding of the physiological mechanisms by which food availability modulates activity of the ...

M.J. Zamiri Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran [email protected] Introduction Since the discovery of kisspeptin and gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) our understanding of the vertebrate reproductive physiology has greatly increased. Gonadotropinreleasing hormones (GnRH) is a hypothalamic decapeptide secreted into the hypothalamohypophysea...

It is thought that estrogen (neuroestrogen) synthesized by the action of aromatase in the brain from testosterone activates male socio-sexual behaviors, such as aggression and sexual behavior in birds. We recently found that gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH), a hypothalamic neuropeptide, inhibits socio-sexual behaviors of male quail by directly activating aromatase and increasing neuroestr...