AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 251, Issue 1 59-R62, Copyright © 1986 by American Physiological Society
Cecal degradation of uric acid in Gambel quail
C. E. Campbell and E. J. Braun
In birds, urine enters the lower gastrointestinal tract from paired ureters
and can be moved in a retrograde fashion into the colon and digestive ceca.
As a major constituent of urine, uric acid is carried into these regions of
the gastrointestinal tract. In these locations the chemical composition of
the urine, including uric acid, could be altered. To examine this
possibility the postrenal degradation of uric acid in the hindgut (ceca,
colon, and ileum) of the Gambel quail (Callipepla gambelii) was
investigated in vitro to determine the location of activity and the
possible source of uricolytic enzymes. Significant breakdown of uric acid
was observed in all cecal preparations; only minor amounts were degraded in
the ileum and colon. The cecal degradation amounted to 15-49% of the uric
acid estimated to be produced by the quail. Attempts to demonstrate uric
acid decomposition by bacteria cultured from ceca gave inconclusive
results.
