9601434 Gwathmey Teleost (fish) are exposed to extremes in environmental temperature and pH. As the global environment changes with increases in temperature and acidification of the waters this species will be negatively impacted. Dr. Gwathmey plans to define the pH and temperature dependence of key enzymes involved in myocardial contractile activation and troponin C calcium binding affinity. She will mechanistically define the relationship between temperature, ion fluxes and myocardial energetics. With state of the art techniques that are available to her speculation and assumption in the literature regarding cardiac physiology in teleosts can now be addressed. She will for the first time ever measure intracellular calcium concentrations as well as key in muscles key ions in muscle preparations from the hearts of teleosts and directly study contractile activation. Unique to teleost is the fact that unlike mammalian species, the heart tolerates well hypoxic/ischemic conditions and changes in intracellular pH. By studying the myocardium of teleost i.e. a salmon she will be able not only to study the adaptive mechanisms that enable teleost to survive extremes in environmental conditions, but to apply a comparative approach.
