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Molecular Assays for Olfactory Imprinting

Physiology/Endocrinology


Assays for Imprinting
Project Title
Molecular Assays for Olfactory Imprinting

Description
A major uncertainty associated with hatchery reform and the conservation of naturally spawning populations is the causes and consequences (both ecological and genetic) of straying between populations of salmon (both hatchery and wild). To appropriately manage salmon populations it is important to understand how hatchery and management practices (e.g. habitat alterations, transport, hatchery rearing and release procedures) will affect olfactory imprinting and ultimately homing and straying. Homing is governed by the olfactory discrimination of home-stream water and exposure to the home stream during appropriate juvenile stages is critical for olfactory imprinting and successful completion of the adult homing migration. Currently, there is no effective way to anticipate how different management practices will affect homing because there is no assay for whether salmon have imprinted to a particular site(s) (beyond monitoring adult return patterns). We have previously demonstrated that olfactory receptor neurons are sensitized to home-stream odors during the process of imprinting and the goal of this project is to exploit this sensitization to develop and validate new molecular tools for assessing imprinting. We are using cDNA arrays, real-time PCR and in situ hybridization to determine whether sensory neuronal populations in salmon change predictably during the process of imprinting. Ultimately these tools will used to identify the critical developmental periods and environmental conditions required for olfactory imprinting in Pacific salmon.

Principal Investigator
Andrew Dittman (Resource Enhancement Utilization Technology Division)

Collaborators
Darran May; School of Aquatic and Fishery Science, University of Washington
Robert Lane; Assistant Professor, Wesleyan University
Barbara Trask; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Leroy Hood; Institute for Systems Biology

Related Links
The next link/button will exit from NWFSC web site School of Aquatic and Fishery Science, University of Washington
The next link/button will exit from NWFSC web site Wesleyan University
The next link/button will exit from NWFSC web site Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The next link/button will exit from NWFSC web site Institute for Systems Biology




Physiology/Endocrinology


last modified 01/30/03

                   
   
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