Collaborative Research: Kisspeptin Regulation of Reproductive Physiology in a Coral Reef Fish

尽管进行了数十年的研究，但关于环境线索如何控制脊椎动物生殖系统的主要问题仍然存在。关键的生化名单？看门人？从鱼类到人类的生殖系统的激活包括两种重要的蛋白质激素，促性腺激素释放激素和Kispeptin，它们在大脑中发挥作用。这个项目将研究社会线索如何影响动物模型系统大脑中的这些荷尔蒙，该模型系统在揭示社会环境和生殖系统之间的联系方面特别强大。这个动物模型就是蓝头鱼，这是一种鱼类，已经成为许多关于环境对生殖功能影响的基础研究的对象。该项目将使用分子神经生物学方法绘制蓝头鲸大脑中促性腺激素释放激素和Kispeptin信号系统的图谱，以比较这些激素在不同生殖阶段的表达，并测试操纵这些激素对生殖功能的影响。该项目的一个关键要素是为来自北卡罗来纳州立大学和佛罗里达州印第安河州立学院的本科生提供行为领域研究和分子生物学实验室研究的经验。第二个好处是增加对鱼类繁殖控制的了解，因为蓝头鲸是一种特别有用的动物，可以用来理解这种控制的具体机制。这一知识对水产养殖业很有价值，因为对繁殖的控制是圈养鱼类繁殖的关键障碍。最后，该项目将与海洋科学教育卓越中心合作，开发以佛罗里达海洋环境为重点的教育材料。基因序列将在Genbank中存档，并将在运输成本的基础上向感兴趣的各方提供cDNA。

Despite decades of research, major questions remain about how environmental cues control the vertebrate reproductive system. The list of key biochemical ?gatekeepers? for activation of the reproductive system from fishes to humans includes two important protein hormones, Gonadotropin-releasing hormone and kisspeptin, that function in the brain. This project would investigate how social cues affect these hormones in the brain of an animal model system that is particularly powerful for revealing connections between the social environment and the reproductive system. This animal model is the bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum), a fish species that has been the subject of many foundational studies of environmental influences on reproductive function. This project will use molecular neurobiology methods to map the gonadotropin-releasing hormone and kisspeptin signaling systems in the brain of the bluehead wrasse, in order to compare the expression of these hormones across different reproductive phases, and to test the effects of manipulating these hormones on reproductive function. A key element of the project is to provide undergraduates from North Carolina State University and Indian River State College in Florida with experience in behavioral field studies and molecular biological laboratory studies. A second benefit will be an increased understanding of the control of reproduction in fishes because the bluehead wrasse is a particularly useful animal for understanding the specific mechanisms of this control. This knowledge is valuable to the aquaculture industry because the control of reproduction represents a key barrier to the propagation of fishes in captivity. Finally, this project will lead to the development of educational materials focused on Florida marine environments in collaboration with the Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence. Gene sequences will be archived in Genbank and cDNAs will be provided to interested parties on a cost-of-transport basis.