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Cardiovascular plasticity during hypoxic incubation of alligator ( Alligator mississippiensis )
Author(s) -
Eme John,
Crossley Dane A,
Hicks James W
Publication year - 2010
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.24.1_supplement.988.6
Subject(s) - alligator , incubation , hypoxia (environmental) , biology , american alligator , embryogenesis , developmental plasticity , embryo , plasticity , bradycardia , medicine , endocrinology , anatomy , andrology , microbiology and biotechnology , blood pressure , heart rate , chemistry , ecology , biochemistry , oxygen , physics , organic chemistry , thermodynamics
The vertebrate cardiovascular (CV) system becomes operational early in development and must function and mature both anatomically and physiologically. Deviations in developmental environment create challenges that impact CV function and maturation. Reptilian embryos may be particularly impacted given features of development in egg‐laying species, such as hypoxia. Using chronic hypoxic incubation as a stressor (10% O 2 beginning at 20% of development), the plasticity of the CV system was assessed in American alligator embryos. Compared to normoxic‐incubated embryos, chronic hypoxic incubation resulted in bradycardia at 90% of incubation, but differing effects on arterial pressure. Assessments of both acute hypoxic and chemically induced chemoreflex indicated maturation of this regulatory mechanism is plastic during embryonic development and blunted by chronic hypoxic incubation. In addition, roles of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are altered by hypoxia. These data indicate that maturation of CV function can exhibit a significant degree of phenotypic plasticity in embryonic alligators. NSF Career award IBN IOS‐0845741 to DAC and NSF IOS‐0922756 to JWH.