Sensory and Behavioral Responses of a Model Fish to Oil Sands Process-Affected Water with and without Treatment.

If oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) is to be returned to the environment, a desire is that it not adversely affect aquatic life. We investigated whether a relevant model fish (rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss) could detect OSPW using its olfactory sense (smell) and whether exposure to it would result in behavioral changes. We also investigated whether ozonation of OSPW, which lowers the concentration of organic compounds attributed with toxicity (naphthenic acids), would ameliorate any observed adverse effects.

Growth differentiation factor 6 as a putative risk factor in neuromuscular degeneration.

Mutation of Glass bottom boat, the Drosophila homologue of the bone morphogenetic protein or growth/differentiation factor (BMP/GDF) family of genes in vertebrates, has been shown to disrupt development of neuromuscular junctions (NMJ). Here we tested whether this same conclusion can be broadened to vertebrate BMP/GDF genes. This analysis was also extended to consider whether such genes are required for NMJ maintenance in post-larval stages, as this would argue that BMP genes are viable candidates for analysis in progressive neuromuscular disease.

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model for the study of aging and exercise: physical ability and trainability decrease with age.

A rapidly aging global population has motivated the development and use of models for human aging. Studies on aging have shown parallels between zebrafish and humans at the internal organization level; however, few parallels have been studied at the whole-organism level. Furthermore, the effectiveness of exercise as a method to mitigate the effects of aging has not been studied in zebrafish.