Molecular and Functional Investigations of GnRH in Lamprey Reproduction

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The brain controls reproduction through chemical mediators called hormones. The brain hormone that is known as the master control of reproduction, and an important one for all vertebrates is gonadotropin-releasing hormone, GnRH. Studies in recent years on the jawless vertebrate called the lamprey, representing the most primitive lineage of vertebrates, show that its GnRH has more than one molecular form that acts at a gland called the pituitary that sits at the base of the brain. This project utilizes molecular and physiological techniques to isolate and characterize the genomic sequences that encode the molecular receptor molecules on cells in the pituitary and the hormones (gonadotropins) produced by the pituitary that respond to GnRH. Results will tell whether lamprey GnRHs share common functional and developmental features with the GnRH found in other vertebrates, and how these multiple forms of GnRH are used by lampreys to regulate reproduction at different life stages under different environmental conditions. The comparative approach allows inferences about how the control of reproduction arose in the evolution of vertebrates. This project will increase our understanding of reproductive control and how it evolved, and so will have an impact beyond neuroscience on endocrinology and vertebrate biology in general. This project also has potential for developing controls for a predatory animal that affects commercial fisheries, has strongly integrated educational and training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, and has a strong component of international collaboration.