No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Japanese quail hens were used to study the effect of feeding palmitic, oleic or linoleic acids on the reproductive performance, tissue fatty acid composition and embryo lipid metabolism. Quail fed palmitic acid consumed more feed than those fed either oleic or linoleic acids. The highest level of reproductive performance was observed in quail fed palmitic acid followed by those fed oleic and linoleic acids. The highest level of embryo survival, observed in the palmitic acid fed group, was associated with more rapid mobilization and assimilation of yolk material by the embryo during incubation and it was not related to changes in eggshell quality. High levels of oleic and linoleic acids were found in egg yolk, plasma and liver lipids from quail fed oleic and linoleic acids, respectively. However, feeding palmitic acid resulted in elevated levels of palmitoleic acids in all three tissues. The fatty acid profiles of phospholipid, triglyceride and cholesterol esters of embryonic tissues were consistently influenced by the fatty acid composition of the yolk lipids and the stage of development. Feeding palmitic acid promoted more retention of labeled fatty acids in embryo lipids. Labeled oleic acid was preferentially esterified in the cholesterol ester fraction of yolk sac membrane lipids, and it appears that this fatty acid is utilized to a great extent by the quail embryo during its development.