RUI: Kidney Function and Osmoregulation During Avian Embryonic Development

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This proposal is to study kidney function and osmoregulation during avian embryonic development. Current knowledge of kidney function in embryonic/fetal amniotes has been restricted to basically one species of mammals due to the difficulty of invasive maternal surgery and catheterization required for conventional infusion and clearance studies. The proposed experiments are designed to take advantage of the chick embryo as a versatile accessible model for kidney function druing early development, mid devlopment and late development. This system allows easy accessibility to the embryo and extraembryonic fluid compartments by making a small window in the eggshell on the second day of incubation, and using microtechniques to determine glomerular filtration rates, electrolytes, urine flow and compartmental volumes during the developmental stages. In one group of embryos, the effects on development of having only one kidney will be determined. Since undergraduate science students will be involved in all aspects of this project, Dr. Murphy will provide a stimulating atmosphere to encourage these students to pursue upper division and graduate studies in the basic sciences.