Presentation Type
Thesis
Department
Biology
Location
Walker Conference Center C
Description
The use of zebrafish has become a prevalent practice amongst researchers in a multitude of different scientific fields. However, previous research has established that the sexual determination in domesticated zebrafish lines, which are currently used in research, are not determined through a specific sex-linked locus but rather is polygenically determined. This differing method of sexual determination causes zebrafish to be susceptible to environmental factors that have been linked to masculinization of female zebrafish. It has been established that little is understood of the mechanism behind this masculinization apart from that it is induced through cortisol. Therefore, it is important for researchers to establish the levels of cortisol that trigger this shift, because shifts in sexual ratio are a confounding variable. In the study, measurements of the whole-body cortisol levels in adult zebrafish, both exogenously and internally produced, were taken to provide foundational techniques for future researchers. Hopefully, after establishing these techniques, future study on this project will allow researchers to determine the definite levels at which the sexual ratio in zebrafish begin to shift.
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Included in
The Effect of Cortisol on Sexual Differentiation in Zebrafish
Walker Conference Center C
The use of zebrafish has become a prevalent practice amongst researchers in a multitude of different scientific fields. However, previous research has established that the sexual determination in domesticated zebrafish lines, which are currently used in research, are not determined through a specific sex-linked locus but rather is polygenically determined. This differing method of sexual determination causes zebrafish to be susceptible to environmental factors that have been linked to masculinization of female zebrafish. It has been established that little is understood of the mechanism behind this masculinization apart from that it is induced through cortisol. Therefore, it is important for researchers to establish the levels of cortisol that trigger this shift, because shifts in sexual ratio are a confounding variable. In the study, measurements of the whole-body cortisol levels in adult zebrafish, both exogenously and internally produced, were taken to provide foundational techniques for future researchers. Hopefully, after establishing these techniques, future study on this project will allow researchers to determine the definite levels at which the sexual ratio in zebrafish begin to shift.