CAREER: Corticosteroid Binding Globulins in the Vertebrate Stress Response: Integrating Cellular, Plasma, and Organismal Studies

糖皮质激素驱动的应激反应是整个动物王国生理和行为的有效调节剂。这种应激反应在许多层面上受到调节，表现出对应激源、环境背景和生物体生理状况的特异性。一个有机体如何能够如此精细地控制历史上被认为是对任何有害压力源的普遍反应？在过去的十年中，结合蛋白已经成为内分泌调节轴的中心整合体之一。皮质类固醇结合球蛋白（CBG）是应激反应的重要调节因子，根据环境和生理条件改变皮质类固醇作用的效力和组织特异性。然而，CBG改变生理功能的机制仍存在争议。本研究将从细胞水平到生态水平结合研究，探讨CBG在白冠麻雀应激反应中的作用。血浆、组织和整只鸟中CBG的可用性将被改变，对外源性皮质酮的生理和行为反应将被监测。这种方法将评估组织与血浆CBG在协调机体应激反应中的相对重要性。这项研究将扩展到生态学相关的有机体研究，以确定CBG如何参与介导野生鸟类种群的应激反应。本项目以科研与教学相结合的本科生实习为主要内容。这些生物学和科学教育专业的本科生将接受实地研究技术和理念的培训，同时学习如何为高中生制定课程计划。5月中旬，学生们将与PI一起前往加州Lee Vining进行为期6周的实地考察。在此期间，他们将完成赠款中概述的实地研究，同时每周有一天在当地高中上他们准备好的课程。整个实习将在蒙大拿大学本科研究会议上展示现场收集的数据。这些经历加强了教育专业学生对科学过程的认识，并形成了一种理解和承诺，即在未来的科学课堂上为学生提供真实的研究体验。对于生物学本科生来说，这些经历将培养他们对教育环境的积极体验，并鼓励他们未来与中学科学课堂的关系。该计划将促进积极参与科学过程和学习科学的本质；这将提高实习生成为未来科学教师的潜力。

The glucocorticoid hormone-driven stress response is a potent modulator of physiology and behavior across the animal kingdom. This stress response is regulated at many levels, demonstrating specificity to the stressor, the environmental context, and the physiological condition of the organism. How can an organism facilitate such fine control over what was historically presumed to be a generalized response to any noxious stressor? Over the last decade binding proteins have emerged as one of the central integrators of the endocrine regulatory axis. Corticosteroid binding globulin (CBG) is a significant regulator of the stress response, altering the potency and tissue specificity of corticosteroid action depending on environmental and physiological conditions. Nevertheless, the mechanism by which CBG alters physiological function is under dispute. This research will investigate the role of CBG in mediating the stress response in white-crowned sparrows by incorporating studies from the cellular to the ecological level. The availability of CBG in plasma, tissues, and whole birds will be altered and the physiological and behavioral responses to exogenous corticosterone will be monitored. Such an approach will evaluate the relative importance of tissue versus plasma CBG in orchestrating the organismal response to stress. This research will be extended to ecologically relevant organismal studies to determine how CBG is involved in mediating the stress response in wild populations of birds. This project incorporates undergraduate internships with integration of research and teaching as their main focus. These undergraduate biology and science education majors will be trained in field research techniques and ideas, while learning how to develop lesson plans for high school students. In mid-May, the students will travel with the PI to Lee Vining, California for the 6-week field season. During that time they will complete the field research outlined in the grant, while also giving their prepared lessons at the local high school one day each week. The entire internship will culminate with presentation of the field-collected data at the University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research. These experiences strengthen the education majors' knowledge of the scientific process, and forge an understanding and commitment to developing authentic research experiences for students in their future science classrooms. For the biology undergraduates, these experiences will foster positive experiences with educational settings and encourage future relationships with secondary science classrooms. This program will promote active participation in both the scientific process and learning the nature of science; it will improve the interns' potential as future teachers of science.