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Introduction
Regulations associated with threatened and endangered fish species
are now primary influences on land and water use in Idaho. Water
requirements for these species take precedent over all other water
uses. However, recent studies have shown that key fish species can
flourish in aquatic environments that are outside conventional
definitions of “optimal.” Understanding the mechanisms of energy
partitioning in fish is fundamental to understanding how fish adapt
to various environments, the evolution of key physiological
innovations in the vertebrates at the cellular /molecular level, and
how land and water use in western states can most wisely be managed
while maintaining or enhancing protected native fish populations.
Research Plan
The partitioning of food energy to maintenance functions,
growth, and reproduction is a central paradigm in animal physiology.
Significant questions pertaining to partitioning of energy remain
unanswered, specifically the fundamental mechanisms of energy
regulation and how fish respond to environmental cues. Two
complementary teleost fish models will be utilized: the zebrafish
and the rainbow trout. The zebrafish is a major species in
regulatory biology due to its experimental tractability and the
availability of genomics tools allowing rapid identification of
changes in expression. The rainbow trout has been the subject of
numerous ecological, physiological, and nutritional studies showing
responsiveness to changes in nutritional status and photoperiod. Our
project will focus on growth, nutrient partitioning, regulation of
cellular lipid profiles, and communication between the growth and
reproductive axes of fish utilizing the combined approaches of
investigation of specific physiological and metabolic pathways, and a comparative genomic approach. Specific research questions are:
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How are structural lipids, energy pathways, and signaling lipids
regulated in response to energy intake, photoperiod, and
maturation?
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Which genes are central to regulatory processes?
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What links and pathways exist between environment, endocrine
regulation, and nutrient partitioning?
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