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Gene expression in cardiac tissue and liver of hypoxic and hyperoxic Alligator mississippiensis
Author(s) -
Parrilla Leah,
Owerkowicz Tomasz,
Steele Erin,
Omori Miki,
Lee Amber,
Hicks James,
Rourke Bryan
Publication year - 2012
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.26.1_supplement.1086.17
Subject(s) - alligator , biology , myostatin , hatchling , gene expression , transcriptome , gene isoform , myosin , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , ecology , hatching
Oxygen levels have fluctuated between 16% and 36% as shown from burial rates of organic carbon over the past 500 million years (my). This cyclical pattern has been associated with animal extinction and implicated as a driving force for physiological adaptation. We use Alligator mississippiensis ( A.M.) as a model species of longevity and adaptability. Incubated A.M. eggs were raised in oxygen conditions of 16%, 21%, 26%, 31%, and 36% representative of oxygen levels over the last 500my. We hypothesized that A.M. raised in hypoxic environments would have constraints on growth, cardiovascular load, metabolic protein expression and myosin heavy‐chain (MyHC) plasticity related to cardiovascular demands. Heart and metabolic activity in the liver were examined at embryonic, hatchling and post‐hatchling time points as indicators of phenotypic plasticity to differing oxygen environments. MyHC isoform expression was examined in all chambers. Proteomic analysis was used to identify differentially expressed liver proteins from each oxygen group using two dimensional gel electrophoresis and MALDI‐TOF/MS for protein identification. Quantitative PCR was used to measure cardiac gene expression for each oxygen group in the oxygen dependent HIF‐1α gene, E3 ubiquitin ligase gene MAFbx involved in the atrophy signaling pathway, and Myostatin involved in hypertrophy. Funded by NSF grant:IOS‐0922627 NSF RUI