The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) recently accepted a 2012 symposium to showcase the biology of the mangrove killifish (Kryptolebias marmoratus). This diminutive fish is unique among vertebrates due to its self- fertilizing mode of reproduction involving an ovotestis (testis and ovaries form in the same place). It is astonishingly adaptive to its environment and easy to culture in the laboratory where it forms isogenic clonal lines. As such, the mangrove killifish is emerging as a valuable model organism across a range of biological disciplines. The two main goals of this conference proposal are to 1) provide travel support for its participants, both international and national, so they may convene and present their research and 2) introduce this venerable model organism to the greater scientific community. At this SICB symposium, participants will present a historical perspective of its past 50 years of study followed by talks spanning integrative disciplines of contemporary study including: genomics, population genetics, life history strategies, environmental biology, developmental genetics, reproductive endocrinology, environmental physiology, molecular ecotoxicology, aggression/contest behavior, and behavioral genetics. The utility of the mangrove killifish for the study of biomedically related fields such as reproduction and developmental genetics will be emphasized in this symposium. This will be a unique opportunity for mentors and trainees from all over the world to meet for the first time and present their work to the SICB community, inspiring the future use of this model organism in both integrative and comparative research.
This research symposium will provide a unique opportunity to exhibit the mangrove killifish (Kryptolebias marmoratus), as an emerging model organism, for biomedical fields ranging from reproductive and developmental genetics to behavior. The mangrove killifish offers an exemplar model for the study of human diseases across these multiple fields now and in the future.
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