The goal of our project is to propose a model organism that would be ideal to study for the next couple of years of Lisman Labs. We propose an organism that would accurately represent a response to environmental stress levels in the Hudson River Valley. We examine both the Atlantic tomcod and the Atlantic killifish because they have been the subjects of past studies tracking DNA methylation in the Bronx River. They exhibit behavioral and phenotypic changes, which make them interesting to observe throughout their life cycle. We hope to craft a proposal that would successfully secure funding to study either the Atlantic tomcod or killifish and its role in different stressful environments.
As a team we began our hunt for an ideal model organism broadly, looking for choices with precedent that we could order ourselves. Once we had compiled a long list, we each set out to narrow it down to our best options. The Atlantic Tomcod was an immediate frontrunner, its huge literary precedent was staggering and its morphological distinction from other similar species meant that sampling from nature would not require complex genetic analysis to differentiate it. Most interesting was its unique adaptability to extremely cold environments. As a lab studying stress response we were fascinated and hoped to get a chance to investigate this remarkable creature further. Our one fear was the size of the adult fish. Considering that we would require on average 1 gallon of tank space per inch of fish, the average 13 inch adult Tomcod risks being too large for our lab to handle. This required us to reassess our priorities a little and investigate a similar, yet smaller organism, the Atlantic Killifish. The Killifish is far smaller and more populous in the Bronx River. Between these two finalists we are in the process of weighing which one is the more realistic model organism for our lab.
Our goal for the end of next week is to decide on one of those two fish (tomcod or killifish) and continue research on how to keep the fish in the laboratory. If time permits, we hope to have a solid outline for a proposal to at least one funding organization by July 16th. By the end of this year, we hope to have applied for funding to a variety of different funding sources.
Marie and Owen
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