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The physiological plasticity of salinity tolerance in Fundulus species
Author(s) -
Galvez Fernando,
Whitehead Andrew,
Zhang Shujun
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.778.16
Subject(s) - fundulus , euryhaline , salinity , biology , transcriptome , gill , zoology , ecology , fishery , gene , gene expression , genetics , fish <actinopterygii>
Despite their renowned euryhaline lifestyle, considerable variation in salinity tolerance appears to exist amongst different species of Fundulus, and amongst different populations of a single Fundulus species. This presentation will describe the physiological plasticity and the genomic underpinnings of abrupt salinity transfers in different populations of F. heteroclitus , F. majalis , F. diaphanus , and F. grandis collected along the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico coasts of the U.S. Gills have been archived for transcriptomic profiling, and many other tissues have been analyzed for comprehensive physiological profiling. Physiology data processed so far (plasma osmolality and gill epithelial structure) indicate significant differences in plasticity between populations and species of Fundulus. Current work is also investigating the adaptive role of claudins, a constitutive component of epithelial tight junctions, in regulating the paracellular movement of solutes during osmotic stress. We have recently cloned several claudin genes from the gills of Fundulus, and are assessing their regulation during abrupt salinity transfers. This work was funded by an NSF grant to FG and AW (Award no. 0723771).