The synthesis of o-aminophenyl glucuronide in several tissues of the domestic fowl, Gallus gallus, during development

Abstract

1. Synthesis of o-aminophenyl glucuronide has been studied in tissues of the domestic fowl, Gallus gallus, during development. 2. The only route of synthesis detected is glucuronyl transfer from UDP-glucuronic acid, and evidence suggests this to be the major pathway. 3. The pathway exists in liver, to a lesser extent in kidney and alimentary tract, and possibly also in skin. It is absent from spleen and adrenal gland. 4. o-Aminophenyl glucuronide formation, UDP-glucuronyltransferase, UDP-glucuronic acid and UDP-glucose dehydrogenase exist in the embryo liver from at least 12 days of incubation. Transferase activity falls just before hatching and rises suddenly on emergence. Overall synthesis of o-aminophenyl glucuronide observed in liver slices confirms this pattern, which also occurs in kidney. UDP-glucuronyltransferase appears in intestinal mucosa only after hatching, and is absent from embryonic spleen. The allantoic membrane forms no o-aminophenyl glucuronide. 5. These findings are related to the isolated existence of an avian embryo.