RUI: Molecular Regulation of Sodium Transport Systems in Euryhaline Animals

小行星9407261 广盐性动物的定义是能够耐受其水生环境中的各种盐水平。 一个例子是绿色海岸蟹Carcinus maenas，这是世界各地许多潮间带栖息地的引进物种。 这种螃蟹通过调节血液中的盐含量，在一系列环境盐度中取得成功，这取决于其多功能鳃中的运输系统。 蟹鳃中的两种钠转运蛋白，钠/氢交换器和钠/钾泵，与哺乳动物肾脏中的转运蛋白非常相似。 如果我们能更多地了解绿色蟹和其他广盐性动物在自然条件下如何科普不同的盐负荷，也许我们会更好地了解我们自己的肾脏中可能与高血压和其他稳态失调有关的过程。 我们也可以了解足够的具体生理Carcinus建议环境安全的方法来控制其作为一种害虫物种。 Towle博士计划利用分子生物学技术研究螃蟹中的两种钠转运蛋白。 他将使用聚合酶链反应（PCR）识别每个转运蛋白的遗传密码。 确定每一个的DNA序列将允许与哺乳动物和其他脊椎动物中的类似转运蛋白进行比较。 他还将能够研究在各种盐度挑战下不同专门组织中每种转运蛋白的分子表达。 他预计，转运蛋白将在低环境盐的动物鳃中表达最强烈，在这种条件下，盐的吸收将是适应性的。 这项研究将在森林湖学院和荒岛山生物实验室的本科生的帮助下完成。 ***

9407261 Towle Euryhaline animals by definition are capable of tolerating a broad range of salt levels in their aquatic environments. An example is the green shore crab Carcinus maenas, an introduced species in many intertidal habitats around the world. This crab succeeds in a range of environmental salinities by regulating its own salt levels in the blood, depending on transport systems in its multifunctional gills. Two sodium transporters in crab gill, a sodium/hydrogen exchanger and a sodium/potassium pump, are very similar to transporters in the mammalian kidney. If we can learn more about how the green crab and other euryhaline animals cope with varying salt loads under natural conditions, perhaps we will better understand processes in our own kidney which may be related to hypertension and other disorders of homeostasis. We may also learn enough about the specifics of the physiology of Carcinus to suggest environmentally safe approaches to its control as a pest species. Dr. Towle plans to study the two sodium transporters in the crab using the techniques of molecular biology. He will identify the genetic code for each of the transporters using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Determining the DNA sequence of each will permit a comparison with similar transporters in mammals and other vertebrates. He will also be able to study the molecular expression of each transporter in different specialized tissues under various salinity challenges. He expects that the transporters will be expressed most strongly in gills of animals challenged with low environmental salt, conditions in which salt uptake would be adaptive. The research will be accomplished with the assistance of undergraduates at Lake Forest College and Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory. ***