Project director: Amanda Callaghan

Microarray gene expression profiling is a powerful tool for defining the effects of environmental change on biological function. This new technology has many potential applications in the field of ecotoxicology. However, as the science of ecotoxicology evolves, it is becoming increasingly apparent that stronger links must be forged between the molecular and the population responses to stressors. Our research aims to strengthen these links by comparing the effects of different stressors on gene expression (using microarrays) with effects observed at the population level (using image analysis) in the widely used indicator species D. magna.

Stressors, which include toxicants and physico-chemical aspects of an organism's environment, (e.g. pH, water hardness) may influence individual fitness by reducing somatic growth, fecundity and survival. Together these life history traits determine a population's growth rate (PGR), which may be positive, zero, or negative in declining populations. Since stress responses are often preceded by alterations in gene expression, microarray studies offer insights into the overall health of individuals and consequently, that of a population. For example, genes up- or down-regulated in response to acute stress may predict chronic effects at the population level. By linking changes in gene expression to changes in PGR we hope to provide a fundamental understanding of the nature of stress responses in D. magna.

Additional information is available here.

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