RUI: Molecular Mechanisms of Euryhalinity

毛巾9807539 广盐性，即耐受广泛环境盐度的能力，是少数植物和动物物种的特性。然而，一些广盐性物种可能非常多产，例如切萨皮克湾的蓝蟹。PI的目标是发现实现广盐性的分子机制，重点是一组表现出一系列适应盐度的密切相关的动物。蓝蟹Callinectes sapidus本身是非常广盐性的，在淡水和泻湖中比正常海水更集中。然而，它的近亲，Callinectes similis，不能在稀盐度中生存。PI将研究这些物种以及第三个中间物种，绿色海岸蟹Carcinus maenas，以描述使广盐性成为可能的基因和蛋白质。 PI将集中在三个候选转运蛋白，可能会调节钠的鳃吸收。PI假设是编码重要蛋白质的基因在耐受性物种中是活性的，但在不耐受性物种中是不活性的或活性较低。所有的候选转运蛋白都与盐处理有关 哺乳动物和其他脊椎动物的肾脏。如果PI能够证明一个或多个转运蛋白基因的盐相关激活，PI将着手寻找假设的调节性“钠摄取反应元件”（“SURE”）。

Towle 9807539 Euryhalinity, the ability to tolerate a breadth of environmental salinities, is a property of a small number of plant and animal species. However, some euryhaline species may be very prolific, exemplified by the blue crab in the Chesapeake Bay. The PIs goals are to discover the molecular mechanisms that enable euryhalinity, focusing on a group of closely related animals that exhibit an array of adaptations to salinity. The blue crab Callinectes sapidus is itself extremely euryhaline, thriving in fresh water and lagoons more concentrated than normal sea water. Its close relative, Callinectes similis, however, cannot survive dilute salinities. The PIs will study these plus a third intermediate species, the green shore crab Carcinus maenas, to describe the genes and proteins that make euryhalinity possible. The PIs will focus on three candidate transporter proteins that may regulate the uptake of sodium by the gill. The PIs hypothesis is that the genes coding for important proteins will be active in tolerant species but inactive or less active in intolerant species. All of the candidate transporter proteins have been implicated in salt handling by kidneys of mammals and other vertebrates. If the PIs are able to demonstrate salinity-related activation of one or more of the transporter genes, the PIs will embark on a search for the hypothetical regulatory "sodium uptake response element" ("SURE").