My work utilizes the extreme selective constraint imposed by low-oxygen environments, across vertebrate (birds, mammals, fish) and invertebrate (crustaceans, insects) systems, in order to probe broader questions like...
To answer various aspects of these questions, I plan on using two main systems, in house, including [1] the intertidal copepod, Tigriopus californicus and [2] the Zebrafish, Danio rerio. However, based on my discoveries, other systems, including barnacles, other copepods, and cnidarians (myxozoans) would be prime candidates for additional projects. |
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I am grateful to the NSF (National Science Foundation) and NIH (National Institute of Health) for believing in my work and continuing to fund my research...
- NSF PRFB (PI; awarded 2018 - 2020 BIO/DBI), NSF BIO/IOS (Co-writer/collaborator; awarded 2021-2024)
- NIH K99/R00 Postdoctoral Fellowship (PI; awarded 2022 - 2027), NIH T32 Hematology (2020 - 2021)
Molecular strategies for oxygen regulation and homeostasis across metazoans
To maintain oxygen homeostasis, multicellular eukaryotes have evolved specialized mechanisms to enhance O2 uptake and distribution, resulting in dynamic respiratory and circulatory systems, capable of responding to changes in O2 availability. These changes are mediated in part through the induction of the Hypoxia-Inducible transcription Factor (HIF) pathway, which in turn activates a variety of genes/pathways. Utilization of those different regulatory pathways provides a mechanism, and logical target for selection, for local adaptation or acclimatization to inadequate O2 supply/low O2 conditions (i.e. hypoxia). Consequently, determining the genetic changes associated with evolutionary adaptations, which allow organisms use to cope with low O2 supply, is required to better understand this fundamental biological constraint. Organisms with and without a HIF-pathway represent numerous avenues for illumination of the molecular strategies.
Members of the HIF-pathway and hemoglobin represent common a priori targets both in bioinformatic and experimental tests; however, there are multiple avenues for adaptation to such a system wide stressor, and thus I aim to explore beyond those genes and illuminate new targets of interest.
Specific sub-projects include:
Environmental exposure and the role of plasticity (phenotypic, developmental, trans-generational)
Plasticity of biological systems refers to the ability of living organisms to change their 'state' in response to any stimuli and applying the most ‘appropriate’ adaptive response. This is known to occur at multiple levels including molecular, cellular, systemic, and behavioral (organismal). One type of plasticity is phenotypic plasticity - many organisms have the ability to express different phenotypes in response to environmental conditions, allowing individual organisms to develop appropriate morphological, physiological, or behavioral traits that better fit a particular environment that they encounter; however, there are other types of plasticity which involve the environment affecting adult phenotypes via events in early development, and potentially through parental priming. Evolutionary adaptation, growth and development at altitude provides the basis traits that are adaptive in high-altitude populations through largely through the process of developmental adaptation – this can also be understood as adaptive developmental plasticity and is based on the hypothesis that early developmental experiences shape ultimately shapes the adult phenotype. Through transgenerational plasticity (transgenerational acclimation), parents have been shown to provide offspring with increased tolerance to various environmental perturbations.
Specific sub-projects include:
To maintain oxygen homeostasis, multicellular eukaryotes have evolved specialized mechanisms to enhance O2 uptake and distribution, resulting in dynamic respiratory and circulatory systems, capable of responding to changes in O2 availability. These changes are mediated in part through the induction of the Hypoxia-Inducible transcription Factor (HIF) pathway, which in turn activates a variety of genes/pathways. Utilization of those different regulatory pathways provides a mechanism, and logical target for selection, for local adaptation or acclimatization to inadequate O2 supply/low O2 conditions (i.e. hypoxia). Consequently, determining the genetic changes associated with evolutionary adaptations, which allow organisms use to cope with low O2 supply, is required to better understand this fundamental biological constraint. Organisms with and without a HIF-pathway represent numerous avenues for illumination of the molecular strategies.
Members of the HIF-pathway and hemoglobin represent common a priori targets both in bioinformatic and experimental tests; however, there are multiple avenues for adaptation to such a system wide stressor, and thus I aim to explore beyond those genes and illuminate new targets of interest.
Specific sub-projects include:
- Alternative molecular pathways associated with response to hypoxia
- Tigriopus californicus (collaboration with Barreto Lab at OSU) -Funded by NSF BIO, 2021-2024
- Hypoxia response in invertebrate lineages with altered HIF-pathways, including Myxozoans & Ctenophores
- Uncovering mechanisms associated with high-altitude adaptation using Phylogenetic and Comparative genomes -Funded by NIH K99/R00
- How pseudogenization facilitates life in oxygen-limited environments -Funded by NIH K99/R00
Environmental exposure and the role of plasticity (phenotypic, developmental, trans-generational)
Plasticity of biological systems refers to the ability of living organisms to change their 'state' in response to any stimuli and applying the most ‘appropriate’ adaptive response. This is known to occur at multiple levels including molecular, cellular, systemic, and behavioral (organismal). One type of plasticity is phenotypic plasticity - many organisms have the ability to express different phenotypes in response to environmental conditions, allowing individual organisms to develop appropriate morphological, physiological, or behavioral traits that better fit a particular environment that they encounter; however, there are other types of plasticity which involve the environment affecting adult phenotypes via events in early development, and potentially through parental priming. Evolutionary adaptation, growth and development at altitude provides the basis traits that are adaptive in high-altitude populations through largely through the process of developmental adaptation – this can also be understood as adaptive developmental plasticity and is based on the hypothesis that early developmental experiences shape ultimately shapes the adult phenotype. Through transgenerational plasticity (transgenerational acclimation), parents have been shown to provide offspring with increased tolerance to various environmental perturbations.
Specific sub-projects include:
- Pathways associated with acclimatization to long-term hypoxia: mammalian genome datasets, and Zebrafish -Funded by NIH K99/R00
- Mechanisms underlying developmental and trans-generational plasticity: Zebrafish -Funded by NIH K99/R00