1. In collaboration with Drs. Kristin O’Brien (University of Alaska) and Bruce Sidell (University of Maine), we are examining the links between mitochondrial form, function, and thermotolerance in two groups of Antarctic fishes: the family Channichthyidae (or “icefishes” which remarkably lack hemoglobin), and their red-blooded relatives from the family Nototheniidae.  My laboratory’s particular interest is in determining differences in the susceptibility of mitochondrial membranes to lipid peroxidation and levels of lipid peroxidation products in these two related, yet physiologically disparate, cold-adapted fishes.  This project is funded by the National Science Foundation.

2. The second project, which has recently been recommended for funding by the National Science Foundation (Division of Integrative and Organismal Systems), involves the consequences of lipid restructuring during temperature variation on the susceptibility of biological membranes to lipid peroxidation.  Lipid peroxidation is intensively studied in biomedicine and aging biology, yet the significance, within the context of temperature physiology, has yet to be elucidated.  In this study we are using a fish model (the striped bass, Morone saxatilis) to test the hypothesis that changes in lipid compositions during temperature acclimation (adaptation) affect an organism’s vulnerability to potentially damaging lipid peroxidation.