Seasonal Control of Reproduction in Green Anole Lizards Through Neural Peptides Involved in the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal (HPG) Axis

Presenter Information

Uyi Imasuen, Minnesota State University, MankatoFollow
Megan Sandeberg, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Nicholas Booker, Minnesota State University, MankatoFollow

Location

CSU Ballroom

Start Date

11-4-2017 10:00 AM

End Date

11-4-2017 11:30 AM

Student's Major

Biological Sciences

Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Mentor's Name

Rachel Cohen

Mentor's Department

Biological Sciences

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Description

While reproduction is a key component in an organism's life, reproductive behaviors vary across species. Seasonal breeders' reproductive behavior changes depending on the season due to fluctuations in steroid hormone levels. Steroid hormone levels increase during the breeding season, causing increased reproductive behaviors, and decrease in the non-breeding season, resulting in a decrease in these behaviors. These hormone levels are controlled by the hypothalamus-pituitary- gonadal (HPG) axis; the hypothalamus releases gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) which acts on the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland then releases hormones that act on the reproductive organs, which ultimately release steroid hormones. Regulation of this process occurs via neural peptides, including kisspeptin, a positive regulator of GnRH, and gonadotropin inhibitory hormone (GnIH), a negative regulator. Green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis) are seasonal breeders who display increased territorial behaviors and ritualized courtship displays while experiencing increased steroid hormone levels during the breeding season. In the current experiment, the gene expression of kisspeptin 1 receptor (Kiss1R), kisspeptin 2 (Kiss2) and GnIH are going to be examined in the green anole brain to assess seasonal changes. We are working to clone the sequences of these genes into a vector, which will be used to construct RNA probes for an in situ hybridization study, allowing for the localization of these genes in the anole brain.