Follow our new series on research happening in the Department of Biology. Each story will broadly highlight a current study or papers that faculty members and graduate students have published as a result of their research findings. For deeper content, we’ll link to the journal or publication in which the research is featured.
Dr. Peggy Biga
"Distribution of H3K27me3, H3K9me3, and H3K4me3 along autophagy-related genes highly expressed in starved zebrafish myotubes"
Peggy R. Biga, Mary N. Latimer, Jacob Michael Froehlich, Jean-Charles Gabillard, and Iban Seiliez. Biology Open 6, 2017.
This manuscript details starvation-induced regulation of several autophagy-related genes (atg) expression and profiles the distribution of key histone methylation marks along lcb3, atg4b, and p62/sqstm1loci. Data reported support epigenetic regulation of autophagy in response to starvation, suggesting a level of regulation that can be sustained for chronic conditions via chromatin modification. This work was completed in collaboration between Dr. Biga's lab and two French INRA labs.
"A comparative evaluation of crowding stress on muscle HSP90 and myostatin expression in salmonids"
Nicholas Galt, Jacob Froehlich, Stephen McCormick, Peggy Biga. Aquaculture 483, 2018.
This manuscript details how salmonid species respond differentially to crowding stress. Results demonstrate that atalntic salmon and cutthroat trout exhibit greater cortisol and glucose responses to crowding compared to rainbow trout and brook trout. Additionally, crowding had no effect on rainbow trout muscle myostatin, but increased myostatin in Atlantic salmon and cutthroat trout muscle. Collectively, the data suggest that rainbow trout are less sensitive to higher stocking densities, which is likely due to high levels of domestication. This work was conducted in collaboration between my lab and Steve McCormick’s lab at USGA and the Conte Anadromous Fish Research Laboratory.
"Dietary methionine restriction: effects on glucose tolerance, lipid content, and microRNA composition in the muscle of rainbow trout"
Mary Latimer, Beth Cleveland, and Peggy Biga. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part C: Toxicology and Pharmacology, 2017.
This manuscript details the conserved physiological response to dietary methionine restriction in a teleost where trout exhibited increased clearance of glucose, increased liver fat accumulation, and decreased muscle fat accretion. In addition, this project identified as miR-133a as a potential mediator of methionine restriction-induced metabolic changes in trout muscle. This project was completed in collaboration between my lab and Beth Cleveland from the USDA.
Learn More
Learn more about Dr. Bigga, our graduate students, and our research on the Department of Biology website.
