ABSTRACT
We administered a blindness-inducing substance (formoguanamine hydrochloride) to Japanese quail in order to find whether it is effective to induce retinal degeneration in avian species other than the chicken. We also investigated its effects on the photoperiodic response of various organs including gonads and the entrainment of circadian locomotor activity rhythms. Histological observation revealed conspicuous degeneration of the photoreceptor outer segments and pigment epithelium. Behavioural responses of formoguanamine hydrochloride-treated birds to visual stimuli were completely abolished. These results proved that this chemical substance is effective to induce blindness in avian species other than the chicken. In formoguanamine hydrochloride-treated birds, the locomotor activity rhythm was entrained to light-dark cycles and the photoperiodic gonadal response was almost normal, suggesting that the extraretinal photoreceptors remained intact even after the formoguanamine hydrochloride-treatment.