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Our model species 

Teleost Fish and Pulmonate Snails

Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Pulmonate snails (H. trivolvis, L. stagnalis and B. glabrata)

We will examine the development and physiology of the nervous systems of these animals using a variety of tools such as immunohistochemistry, confocal microscopy, and electrophysiology.

 

Our focus

One of the goals of the lab is to understand the development and modulation of Gonadotropin releasing hormone neurons (GnRH) that are the primary controllers of reproduction and allied behaviors in all animals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We use transgenic zebrafish and medaka with GnRH neurons tagged with GFP as the model system. GFP tagging allows us to easily visualize the GnRH neurons. We can observe them as they develop in the early embryonic fish and analyze how the functional connections change over development. GnRH neurons can also be accessed for electrophysiological analysis both in the living embryo and in the excised intact adult brains. Zebrafish and medaka are also powerful models to study social behavior, response to photoperiodic and chemosensory cues and reactions to environmental estrogens.

Medaka embryo

Dissection of Medaka Brain

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