伊丽莎白·琼斯- 3分钟论文亚军:类固醇的黄貂鱼和鲨鱼

在南密西西比大学,在-教授的悉心指导下AFS成员- - - - - -安德鲁·埃文斯博士,伊丽莎白·琼斯的3分钟论文《类固醇下的黄貂鱼和鲨鱼》获得亚军。

当你想到类固醇激素的作用时,你可能会想象一个肌肉健壮的健身者,但类固醇除了增加肌肉之外还会引起广泛的生理过程。其中两个过程是能量动员,即储存葡萄糖的释放,以及水矿物质平衡,包括血压和盐的调节。有时这些过程单独发生,有时它们一起发生;例如,当你有压力时,你的身体会分泌类固醇,释放储存的葡萄糖作为能量,它也会分泌类固醇,增加血压,这有助于迅速将葡萄糖输送到你的肌肉。通常,单独的类固醇控制能量代谢和水矿物质平衡,正如你在这里看到的。然而,鲨鱼、冰鱼和黄貂鱼——我们称之为板鳃目鱼类——有一种单一的新型类固醇,称为1α-B,它控制着这两种功能。这给我们提出了一个有趣的问题;这是否意味着每次分泌1α-B时,葡萄糖被释放,血盐浓度增加?这正是我所提议的研究要研究的。具体来说,我将研究1α-B在弹性分枝动物中的作用机制,并确定决定它在能量代谢或水矿物平衡中的作用的因素。 Steroid hormones work by passing through cell membranes and attaching to DNA where they act to turn genes on or off. What I plan to do is to expose tissues from stingrays to 1α-B, then identify the genes that are turned on or off. This analysis of the genetic actions of 1α-B will help us understand how and when this steroid performs its different functions. So, why is this research important? Energy metabolism and hydromineral balance are involved in stress and movement between water bodies with different salt concentrations, or salinities. Both of these are phenomena that elasmobranchs deal with normally, but the frequency of these challenges has been increased by human activity. Sharks and rays are regularly caught as by-catch where they are exposed the stress of capture and handling. Coastal elasmobranchs often encounter rapid human-induced changes in salinity caused by actions such a spillway management during flooding. Elasmobranchs are ecologically important species that are critical to maintaining balance in marine food webs, yet a quarter of them have been listed as endangered species. So the reason this research is important it that it will lend insight into how elasmobranchs respond to the physiological challenges brought about by human activity will inform efforts to manage and conserve these ecologically important organisms.3太滑点击这里观看视频