Ashli Moore Project Director: The Role of the Premammillary Nucleus in the Regulation of Broodiness in the Domestic Turkey

Egg production in the domestic turkey hen is regulated by photoperiod. Long days stimulate egg production, followed by a photorefractory stage in which long days are no longer stimulatory and egg production ceases. Understanding the photoperiodic regulation of reproduction is critical for developing strategies to increase turkey production efficiency. Recent studies have implicated the premammillary nucleus of the hypothalamus (PMM) as the site of photoperiodic timekeeping. The proposed project seeks to clarify the role of the PMM in the photoperiodic regulation of egg production in turkeys. We will test the hypothesis that photoreceptive neurons in the turkey PMM mediate the development of photorefractoriness in hens.