Regulation and function of the stress response in fish

压力是生命的一个共同特征，鱼类和所有有机体一样，都会进化出反应，以保护自己免受自然环境中需求超过资源的情况的影响。应激反应涉及一系列广泛而协调的生理变化，旨在将能量从非基本功能(如生长和繁殖)重新分配到基本活动上。压力反应也是根据挑战的性质和持续时间量身定做的，并取决于个人的适应能力。尽管对压力反应的精细平衡调节对健康和生存至关重要，但人们对调节压力反应的机制知之甚少。因此，我实验室的研究重点是了解鱼类的神经和荷尔蒙机制，通过这些机制，应激源被感知并处理成特定于背景的生理反应。利用斑马鱼作为发育模型和虹鱼的独特属性，将细胞和分子机制与整个生物体的结果相结合，这一建议旨在解决：1)调控成年斑马鱼应激反应的机制是否也参与斑马鱼胚胎中枢神经系统发育过程中的神经元保护；2)早期胚胎发育期间的应激源如何影响斑马鱼幼体和成年斑马鱼的应激反应；以及3)激素瘦素是否参与调节虹鱼在低氧条件下的摄食、代谢和应激反应。总体而言，该提案解决了关于应激反应的中介在发育过程中的作用以及调节应激反应和食物摄入量以应对环境应激源的新问题。因此，这项研究将加深我们对身体如何应对压力源的理解，以及我们将压力的负面影响降至最低或抵消的能力。我们的研究对水产养殖业和参与评估野生鱼类种群拟人化活动的机构也有重要的应用。

Stress is a common feature of life and fish, like all organisms, have evolved responses to protect themselves against situations in their natural environment where demands exceed resources. The stress response involves a broad and coordinated suite of physiological changes aimed at reallocating energy away from non-essential functions (e.g. growth and reproduction) toward essential activities. The stress response is also tailored to the nature and duration of the challenge, and dependent on the resilience of the individual. Although fine-balance regulation of the stress response is essential to health and survival, relatively little is known about the mechanisms that regulate it. Therefore, research in my lab is focused on understanding the neuronal and hormonal mechanisms in fish by which stressors are perceived and processed into context-specific physiological responses. Taking advantage of the unique attributes of zebrafish as a developmental model and of rainbow trout to integrate cellular and molecular mechanisms with whole-organisms outcomes, this proposal addresses: 1) whether the mechanisms that regulate the stress response in adults are also involved in protecting neurons during the development of the central nervous system in zebrafish embryos; 2) how stressors during early embryonic development affects the stress response in larval and adult zebrafish; and 3) whether the hormone leptin is involved in the regulation of food intake, metabolism, and the stress response in rainbow trout during conditions of low oxygen availability. Overall, the proposal addresses novel questions about the role of the mediators of the stress response during development and the regulation of the stress response and food intake in response to environmental stressors. As such, this research will further our understanding of how the body copes with stressors and our ability to minimize or counteract the negative impact of stress. Our research also has important applications for the aquaculture industry and for agencies involved in the assessment of anthropomorphic activities on wild fish populations.