Project description:It takes two to tango - phylogeography, taxonomy and hybridization in grass snakes and dice snakes (Serpentes: Natricidae: Natrix natrix, N. tessellata)
Project description:Phylogeography and taxonomy of grass snakes (Natrix helvetica, N. natrix) in Italy and Corsica: little nuclear genomic differentiation conflicts with extreme mitochondrial differentiation
Project description:Snakes possess a unique sensory system for detecting infrared radiation, enabling them to generate a ‘thermal image’ of predators or prey. Infrared signals are initially received by the pit organ, a highly specialized facial structure that is innervated by nerve fibers of the somatosensory system. How this organ detects and transduces infrared signals into nerve impulses is not known. Here we use an unbiased transcriptional profiling approach to identify TRPA1 as the infrared receptor on sensory neurons that innervate the pit organ. TRPA1 from pit bearing snakes (rattlesnakes and pythons) are the most heat sensitive vertebrate ion channels thus far identified, consistent with their role as primary transducers of infrared stimuli in these animals. Thus, snakes detect infrared signals through a mechanism involving radiant heating of the pit organ, rather than photochemical transduction. These findings illustrate the broad evolutionary tuning of TRP channels as thermosensors in the vertebrate nervous system.
Project description:Snakes possess a unique sensory system for detecting infrared radiation, enabling them to generate a ‘thermal image’ of predators or prey. Infrared signals are initially received by the pit organ, a highly specialized facial structure that is innervated by nerve fibers of the somatosensory system. How this organ detects and transduces infrared signals into nerve impulses is not known. Here we use an unbiased transcriptional profiling approach to identify TRPA1 as the infrared receptor on sensory neurons that innervate the pit organ. TRPA1 from pit bearing snakes (rattlesnakes and pythons) are the most heat sensitive vertebrate ion channels thus far identified, consistent with their role as primary transducers of infrared stimuli in these animals. Thus, snakes detect infrared signals through a mechanism involving radiant heating of the pit organ, rather than photochemical transduction. These findings illustrate the broad evolutionary tuning of TRP channels as thermosensors in the vertebrate nervous system. Gene expression measurements implicate TRPA1 as the heat-sensitive channel in diverse pit snakes
Project description:Distribution and hybridization of barred and common grass snakes (Natrix helvetica, N. natrix) in Baden-Württemberg, Southwest Germany
Project description:Adult male grass shrimp were exposed for 96 hours to LC50 concentrations of either Fipronil, Endosulfan, or Cadmium, as well as a Carrier Control exposure. RNA was extracted from whole-body homogenates using the RNABee kit. Tags were clustered to identify tags diagnostic of the different exposures. Keywords: SAGE, Grass shrimp, ecotoxicogenomics