U.S.-France Cooperative Research: Transcriptional and Posttranscriptional Regulation of the Sodium Pump

美法合作研究：钠泵的转录和转录后调控

• 批准号: 0340622
• 负责人: David Towle
• 金额: $ 13万
• 依托单位: Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-06-01 至 2007-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0340622&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: U.S.; France; Cooperative; Research; Transcriptional

Many coastal habitats include estuaries in which the mixing of fresh water and seawater establishes a salinity gradient affected by tidal cycles and rainfall. A few species of plants and animals have evolved physiological mechanisms that permit reproductive success in such stressful environments. Among these are aquatic crustaceans like the shore crab Pachygrapsus marmoratus and others such as the green crab Carcinus maenas and the Asian crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus that are highly invasive in ecosystems where they lack natural predators. We hypothesize that these animals resist changes in salinity by regulating (1) the expression of specific genes and (2) the function of proteins encoded by those genes. We propose to examine this hypothesis in the shore crab Pachygrapsus marmoratus, a highly successful species in intertidal estuarine environments. Like many euryhaline crabs, this species is capable of taking up salt from dilute salinities, using the sodium pump to energize the process. However, P. marmoratus is also capable of salt excretion in environments more concentrated than normal seawater. Our aim is to delineate the steps leading to differences in sodium pump gene expression, with emphasis on neurohormonal factors and cell signaling pathways. The proposed research will lead to enhanced training opportunities for both the host (Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory) and counterpart (Universite Montpellier II, France). The French lab will learn additional molecular techniques while the host lab will gain expertise in electrophysiology and gill perfusion. An important part of the proposed research is the involvement of undergraduates, to be recruited from Maine colleges, who will collaborate in the proposed research in both countries.

许多沿海栖息地包括河口，淡水和海水的混合形成了受潮汐周期和降雨影响的盐度梯度。 一些植物和动物物种已经进化出允许在这种压力环境下成功繁殖的生理机制。 其中包括水生甲壳类动物，如岸蟹 Pachygrapsus marmoratus，以及其他动物，如绿蟹 Carcinus maenas 和亚洲蟹 Hemigrapsus sanguineus，这些动物在缺乏天敌的生态系统中具有高度入侵性。 我们假设这些动物通过调节（1）特定基因的表达和（2）这些基因编码的蛋白质的功能来抵抗盐度的变化。 我们建议在潮间带河口环境中非常成功的岸蟹 Pachygrapsus marmoratus 中检验这一假设。 与许多广盐蟹一样，该物种能够从稀盐度中吸收盐，利用钠泵为该过程提供能量。 然而，P. marmoratus 也能够在比正常海水浓度更高的环境中排盐。 我们的目标是描绘导致钠泵基因表达差异的步骤，重点是神经激素因素和细胞信号传导途径。 拟议的研究将为主办方（沙漠岛生物实验室）和对应方（法国蒙彼利埃第二大学）提供更多的培训机会。 法国实验室将学习更多的分子技术，而主机实验室将获得电生理学和鳃灌注方面的专业知识。 拟议研究的一个重要部分是从缅因州大学招募本科生的参与，他们将在两国合作开展拟议研究。