EAGER: Identification of chemosensitive regions in brainstems of herps

Wright State University, Dayton OH

Investigators

Abstract

Poikilothermic vertebrates experience a broad range of temperatures during their normal life histories with considerable impact on their acid-base balance. Given the fundamental importance of pH regulation, poikilothermic vertebrates should have a well-defined set of mechanisms to compensate for the effects of temperature on acid-base. Thus it is intriguing that, instead, there is a broad spectrum of acid-base regulating strategies in response to the challenge induced by variable body temperature. For any pH-regulatory strategy the response to acute temperature-induced metabolic alterations in pH requires an ability to sense those perturbations and appropriately adjust the depth and rhythm of breathing. The primary objectives of this project are to identify chemosensitive regions of the brainstem and characterize cellular properties of sensory neurons within those regions in bullfrogs, Tegu lizards, and Savannah monitor lizards. These experiments address major elements of the feedback loop for ventilatory control and maintenance of pH homeostasis in animals subject to variable body temperatures. Comparative, integrative approaches are essential to finding common underlying mechanisms. Reduced preparations like the brainstem slices used in these experiments are useful for discovering physiological mechanisms critical for understanding how systems work; however, it is also necessary to integrate this information into the feedback loop since it is the organism as a whole which is responding to its environment. Wright State University's Biological Sciences department actively encourages involvement of undergraduate students in research, and the PI will continue to encourage women and other minorities in the STEM disciplines to explore research both as an important learning experience during their undergraduate and/or graduate education and as a career choice. The PI and her trainees are active participants in outreach programs in local school districts including science fairs and "PhUn week" (organized and sponsored by the American Physiological Society). The PI also strongly encourages her trainees to share what they have learned with their communities for public engagement and for them to learn to teach and convey the importance of research.