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Supported by an IDeA grant from the National Center
for Research Resources, NIH
Jack R. Bateman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology
Bowdoin College
jbateman@bowdoin.edu
BS, Dalhousie University, 1995, Biology
PhD, Harvard Medical School, 2001, Cell BiologyDr. Bateman’s research focuses on the spatial organization of the genome and its influence on gene expression and development. A growing body of evidence supports the idea that specific regulatory interactions can take place in trans between different chromosomes. Using Drosophila melanogaster as a model system, Dr. Bateman’s studies address the regulation of trans-interactions between genetic elements by analyzing the capacity of different enhancers and promoters to communicate in trans, and by asking how chromosomal position and local genomic context can influence these interactions. Furthermore, by studying the mechanisms of somatic pairing between homologous chromosomes, he aims to better understand how interchromosomal interactions shape the nuclear landscape.
Bateman, J., Shu, H., and Van Vactor, D. 2000. The guanine nucleotide exchange factor Trio mediates axonal development in the Drosophila embryo. Neuron 26, 93-106.
Bateman, J., Reddy, S., Saito, H., and Van Vactor, D. 2001. The receptor tyrosine phosphatase Dlar and integrins organize actin filaments in the Drosophila follicular epithelium. Curr Biol. 11, 1317-1327.
Bane, B. C., MacRae, T. H., Xiang, H., Bateman, J., and Slepecky, N. B. 2002. Microtubule cold stability in supporting cells of the gerbil auditory sensory epithelium: correlation with tubulin post-translational modifications. Cell Tiss. Res. 307: 57-67.
Krueger N.X., Reddy R.S., Johnson K., Bateman J., Kaufmann N., Scalice D., Van Vactor D., and Saito, H. 2003. Functions of the ectodomain and cytoplasmic tyrosine phosphatase domains of the receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase Dlar in vivo. Mol. Cell Biol. 23: 6909-6921.
Bateman, J.R.*, Lee, A.M.*, and Wu, C.-t. 2006. Site-specific transformation of Drosophila via phiC31 integrase-mediated cassette exchange. Genetics 173: 769-777. *equal contribution.
Bateman, J.R., and Wu, C.-T. 2007. DNA replication and models for the origin of piRNAs. Bioessays 29: 382-385.
Williams, B.R., Bateman, J.R., Novikov, N.D., and Wu, C.-t. 2007. Disruption of Topoisomerase II perturbs pairing in Drosophila cell culture. Genetics 177: 31-46.
Patsy S. Dickinson, Ph.D.
Josiah Little Professor of Natural Sciences
Bowdoin College
pdickins@bowdoin.edu
http://academic.bowdoin.edu/faculty/P/pdickins/index.shtml
BA, Pomona College, 1973
MS, University of Washington, 1976
PhD, University of Washington, 1979
Postdoc, Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Comparee, CNRS 1979-1981
and Universite de Bordeaux I, 1979 - 1981Professor Dickinson studies the control and modulation of rhythmic motor patterns. To meet the demands of a changing environment, behaviors, including rhythmic movements such as breathing, chewing and walking, which are controlled by central pattern generators (CPGs), must be flexible. Thus, studies over the past 20 years have shown that CPGs are subject to neuromodulation, which can change both the properties of the neurons and the synaptic interactions between the neurons in a circuit. To address questions regarding mechanisms that provide flexibility, students in my lab and I are using several techniques and simple model systems in crustaceans. First, using the crustacean stomatogastric nervous system, we are studying the ways in which different neuromodulators alter a series of interacting pattern generators. Using primarily electrophysiological recordings, we are using a comparative approach to examine two questions in this model system: what differences in circuits might be responsible for differences in the effects of modulators, and why are there so many different modulators in such a seemingly simple system? Secondly, we are using the cardiac ganglion/heart neuromuscular system to address questions regarding the role of feedback loops in controlling rhythmic behaviors. Third, we are using molecular techniques to identify the transcripts that encode different neuropeptides, so that we can determine the isoform present in each species. We can then examine the physiological effects of different isoforms.
Hsu YW, Stemmler EA, Messinger DI, Dickinson PS, Christie AE, de la Iglesia HO. (2008) Cloning and differential expression of two beta-pigment-dispersing hormone (beta-PDH) isoforms in the crab Cancer productus: Evidence for authentic beta-PDH as a local neurotransmitter and beta-PDH II as a humoral factor. J Comp Neurol. 508(2):197-211.
Christie AE, Cashman CR, Brennan HR, Ma M, Sousa GL, Li L, Stemmler EA, Dickinson PS. (2008) Identification of putative crustacean neuropeptides using in silico analyses of publicly accessible expressed sequence tags. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 156:246-264.
Thompson, R.R., Dickinson, P.S., Rose, J.D.1, Dakin, K.A., Civiello, G.M., Segerdahl, A., and Bartlett, R. (2008) Pheromones enhance somatosensory processing in newt brains through a vasotocin-dependent mechanism. Proc Roy Soc B, In Press.
Dickinson, P.S., Stemmler, E.A., Christie, A.E. (2008). The pyloric neural circuit of the herbivorous crab Pugettia producta shows limited sensitivity to a number of neuromodulators that elicit robust effects in more opportunistically feeding decapods. J. Exp. Biol. In Press.
Thompson, R.R., Dickinson, P.S., Rose, J.D.1, Dakin, K.A., Civiello, G.M., Segerdahl, A., and Bartlett, R. (2008) Pheromones enhance somatosensory processing in newt brains through a vasotocin-dependent mechanism. Proc Roy Soc B, 275:1685-93.
Dickinson, P.S., Stemmler, E.A., Christie, A.E. (2008). The pyloric neural circuit of the herbivorous crab Pugettia producta shows limited sensitivity to a number of neuromodulators that elicit robust effects in more opportunistically feeding decapods. J. Exp. Biol. 211:1434-47.
Hadley Horch, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology and Neuroscience
Bowdoin College
hhorch@bowdoin.edu
http://academic.bowdoin.edu/faculty/H/hhorch/
BA, Swarthmore College, 1993, Biology
PhD, Duke University, 2001, Neuroscience
Neuronal injuries induce profound changes in axons, dendrites, and synapses that usually lead to a devastating loss of function. While a large amount of research has broadened our understanding of axonal regeneration, very little is known about the ability of dendrites to regenerate after injury or denervation. Obviously, any successful clinical strategy will eventually need to consider the regeneration of dendrites and synapses if the full complexity of neuronal circuitry is to be restored. The long-term goal of Professor Horch’s research is to understand the molecular control of dendritic growth and plasticity. Specifically, work in the lab examines the compensatory regeneration of auditory interneurons in the cricket. Past research has demonstrated that unilateral removal of the ear in crickets induces denervated interneuron dendrites to grow across the midline, a boundary they usually observe, and form functional synaptic connections with the auditory afferents from the opposite ear. This reinnervation is remarkably precise, reinstating interneuron-specific threshold and intensity responses. The central hypothesis of Dr. Horch’s research is that the compensatory regeneration and synapse formation of auditory dendrites in the cricket is guided by a recapitulation of the expression of developmental molecules.Sargent, P.B., and Wilson, H.L. 1995. Distribution of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit immunoreactivies on the surface of chick ciliary ganglion neurons. In Effects of Nicotine on Biological Systems II: Advances in Pharmacological Sciences. Birkhauser Verlag Basel, p. 355-361.
Horch, H.W., and Sargent, P.B. 1995. Perisynaptic surface distribution of multiple classes of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on neurons in the chicken ciliary ganglion. J. Neurosci. 15: 7778-7795.
Horch, H.W., and Sargent, P.B. 1996. Synaptic and extrasynaptic distribution of two distinct populations of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor clusters in the frog cardiac ganglion. J. Neurocytol. 25: 67-77.
Horch, H.W., and Sargent, P.B. 1996. Effects of denervation on acetylcholine receptor clusters on frog cardiac ganglion neurons as revealed by quantitative laser scanning confocal microscopy. J. Neurosci. 16: 1720-1729.
Horch, H.W., Kruttgen, A., Portbury, S.D, and Katz, L.C. 1999. Destabilization of cortical dendrites and spines by BDNF. Neuron, 23: 353-364.
Horch, H.W., and Katz, L.C. 2002. BDNF release from single cells elicits local dendritic growth in nearby neurons. Nature Neuroscience, 5: 1177-1184.
William R. Jackman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology
Bowdoin College
wjackman@bowdoin.edu
http://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/w/wjackman/index.shtml
BS, University of Washington, 1993, Cell/Molecular Biology
PhD, University of Oregon, 2000, Developmental BiologyDr. Jackman is interested in the genetic mechanisms that control embryonic development and how these mechanisms have changed during evolution. Currently he is focusing on discovering the early signals that initiate tooth organogenesis, using aquarium fish including zebrafish as model species. Early tooth development requires the activity of several paracrine signals including molecules from the Fibroblast growth factor (Fgf) and Bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp) pathways. However it is unknown what the earliest signals are that instruct an undifferentiated field of embryonic cells to start developing into a tooth. To help identify these signals, he is analyzing cis-regulatory regions that control transcription during tooth development to find clues to what factors may activate them. He then tests candidate regulatory factors with antisense loss-of-function and transgenic gain-of-function techniques in zebrafish embryos to determine their function during tooth development. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of early vertebrate tooth development may be essential information for development of future regenerative clinical therapies in humans.
Jackman WR, Kimmel CB. Coincident iterated gene expression in the amphioxus neural tube. Evol Dev. 2002;4(5):366-74.
Maves L, Jackman W, Kimmel CB. FGF3 and FGF8 mediate a rhombomere 4 signaling activity in the zebrafish hindbrain. Development. 2002;129(16):3825-37.
Jackman WR, Draper BW, Stock DW. Fgf signaling is required for zebrafish tooth development. Dev Biol. 2004;274(1):139-57.
Jackman WR, Mougey JM, Panopoulou GD, Kimmel CB. crabp and maf highlight the novelty of the amphioxus club-shaped gland. Acta Zool (Stockholm). 2004;85:91-9.
Jackman WR, Stock DW. Transgenic analysis of Dlx regulation in fish tooth development reveals evolutionary retention of enhancer function despite organ loss. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006;103(51):19390-5.
Stock DW, Jackman WR, Trapani J. Developmental genetic mechanisms of evolutionary tooth loss in cypriniform fishes. Development. 2006;133(16):3127-37.
BA, University of Vermont, 1979
PhD, Yale University, 1983
Plants are composed of a collection of cells whose varied shapes determines the final shape, size and growth characteristics of the entire plant. Each cell is surrounded by a structure called the cell wall, which is made up of carbohydrates and proteins manufactured by the cells. This cell wall must enlarge and be modified during cell growth and division, and the regulation and monitoring of its production and modification is critical to plant form and function. Professor Kohorn’s work investigates a molecule, called WAK for Wall Associated Kinase, that is on the surface of plant cells that allows connection and communication between the cell and its cell wall, so that the cell growth and shape can be correctly regulated. WAK is a protein that traverses from the interior of cells to the outside where it binds pectins in the cell wall. Plants that lack WAK are deficient is cell growth. Using Arabidopsis biochemical and genetic analysis of WAKs and WAK binding molecules Dr. Kohorn seeks to understand how the cell and its wall are connected, and to elucidate the mechanism of information transfer.Wagner, TA, and Kohorn, B.D. 2001. Wall associated kinases, WAKs, are expressed throughout development and are required for cell expansion. The Plant Cell. 13:303-18
Kohorn, BD. 2001. Cell wall associated kinases . Curr. Opinions in Cell Biol 13:529-33.
Anderson, K.A. and Kohorn, B.D. Inactivation of Arabidopsis SIP1 leads to reduced levels of sugars and drought tolerance. 2001 The Plant Journal 158: 1215-1219.
Snyders, S. and Kohorn, B.D. (2001) Disruption of thylakoid kinase activity TAK1 leadsto alteration of light energy transduction. J. Biol. Chem. 276:32169-32176
Kohorn, B.D., obayashi, M, Johansen, S., Riese, J., Huang, L-F., Koch K., Fu, S., Dotson, A., and Byers, N, (2006). An Arabidopsis Cell Wall Associated Kinase Required for Invertase Activity and Cell Growth. The Plant Journal 466: 307-316.
Kohorn, B.D., Kobayashi, M, Johansen, S., Fischer, A, Byers, N,. (2006) Wall Associated Kinase 1 is Crosslinked in Endomembranes and Transport To The Cell Surface Requires Correct Cell Wall Synthesis. Journal Cell Science 119: 2282-2290.
Barry Logan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biology, Director Biochemistry Program
Bowdoin College.
blogan@bowdoin.edu
http://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/b/blogan/index.shtml
BA, Cornell University, 1990, Biology
PhD, University of Colorado 1997, BiologyDr. Logan studies parasite alterations to genetic expression within host senescence pathways. Eastern dwarf mistletoe is a parasite that infects members of the spruce genus. Host white spruce suffer severe infection-induced injury and increased mortality, whereas red spruce tolerate infection with few visible deleterious effects. Curiously, when white spruce succumb to infection, mistletoe-infected branches remain robust while uninfected branches senesce. Professor Logan hypothesizes that mistletoe perturbs signaling pathways of host white spruce in a manner that suppresses the expression of genes that promote localized senescence. This prolongs and enhances the impact of the parasite on its host and ultimately hastens whole-tree mortality. He further hypothesizes that eastern dwarf mistletoe is unable to exert such control over the senescence signaling pathways of red spruce. Infection may even accelerate branch senescence in red spruce. Dr. Logan also studies the functional consequences of mutations affecting photoprotective energy dissipation. In all but the shadiest environments, plants absorb more sunlight than they can use to drive photosynthetic CO2 assimilation. The absorption of so-called excess light can result in the formation of reactive forms of molecular oxygen (e.g., superoxide and singlet O2) that can damage cellular macromolecules. Recently, the isolation of deletion mutants of proteins required for energy dissipation, along with the creation of transgenic overexpressers of those same proteins, has expanded opportunities to examine the importance of energy dissipation in terms of physiological performance, growth, and fitness. He uses genotypes with differing levels of expression of the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of violaxanthin to zeaxanthin (Z) and genotypes with differing levels of expression of the protein thought to bind Z (called PsbS) to compare the performance of plants that are unable to conduct energy dissipation with wild-type plants and those with greater-then-wild-type capacities for energy dissipation.
Logan BA, Huhn ER, Tissue DT (2002) Photosynthetic characteristics of eastern dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium pusillum Peck) and its effects on the needles of host white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss). Plant Biology 4: 740-745
Logan BA, Monson RK (1999) Thermotolerance of leaf-discs from four isoprene-emitting species is not enhanced by exposure to exogenous isoprene. Plant Physiology 120: 821-825
Logan BA, Demmig-Adams B, Adams WW III, Grace SC (1998) Antioxidation and xanthophyll cycle-dependent energy dissipation in Cucurbita pepo and Vinca major acclimated to four growth irradiances in the field. Journal of Experimental Botany 49: 1869-1879
Logan BA, Demmig-Adams B, Adams WW III (1998) Antioxidation and xanthophyll cycle dependent energy dissipation in Cucurbita pepo and Vinca major upon a sudden increase in growth PPFD in the field. Journal of Experimental Botany 49: 1881-1888
Logan BA, Grace SC, Adams WW III, Demmig-Adams B (1998) Seasonal differences in xanthophyll cycle characteristics and antioxidants in Mahonia repens growing in different light environments. Oecologia 116: 9-17
Logan BA, Barker DH, Demmig-Adams B, Adams WW III (1996) Acclimation of leaf carotenoid composition and ascorbate levels to gradients in the light environment within an Australian rainforest. Plant, Cell and Environment 19: 1083-1090
Anne McBride, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biology and Biochemistry
Bowdoin College
amcbride@bowdoin.edu
http://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/a/amcbride/index.shtml
BS, Yale University, 1990, Chemistry
PhD,University of Colorado, 1997, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Professor McBride’s research focuses on understanding how methylation of proteins at arginine residues affects protein function using two model systems: baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. Methylated arginines were first identified in proteins forty years ago, but technological advances in the past decade have allowed this research group and others to make significant progress in understanding the effects of this modification on protein function. We now know that arginine methylationplays roles in many cellular processes including nucleocytoplasmic protein transport, cell signaling, transcriptional regulation and DNA repair. Specifically, the lab aims to test whether changes in levels of methylation might affect a protein’s function during cellular differentiation. A particularly interesting example of cellular differentiation in fungi is the change from budding to filamentous growth. C. albicans can cause disease in mammals with weakened immune systems and its pathogenicity is associated with this morphological change. Therefore, much current research focuses on understanding this transition in Candida. We have found that colonies of C. albicans cells that lack the major enzyme that adds methyl groups to arginine (named Hmt1) show a detectable increase in filamentation compared to colonies of cells with Hmt1. This result suggests that methylation of one or more protein(s) may partially inhibit filamentation; indeed, our preliminary results show that methylarginine-specific antibodies detect at least one C. albicans protein more strongly in budding than in filamentous cells.
McBride, A. E., Weiss, V. H., Kim, H. K., Hogle, J. M., and Silver, P. A. (2000) Analysis of the yeast arginine methyltransferase Hmt1p/Rmt1p and its in vivo function: Cofactor binding and substrate interactions. J Biol Chem 275: 3128-36.
Weiss, V. W., McBride, A. E., Soriano, M. A., Filman, D. J., Silver, P. A., and Hogle, J. M. (2000) The structure and oligomerization of the yeast arginine methyltransferase, Hmt1. Nat. Struct. Biol. 7: 1165-1171.
Valentini, S. R., Casolari, J., Oliveira, C. C., Silver, P. A. and McBride, A. E. (2002) Genetic interactions of yeast eukaryotic translation initiation factor-5A (eIF-5A) reveal connections to poly(A)-binding protein and protein kinase C signaling. Genetics 160: 393-405.
Yu, M. C., Bachand, F., McBride, A. E., Komili, S., Casolari, J. M. and Silver, P. A. (2004) Arginine methylation affects interactions and recruitment of mRNA processing and export factors. Genes & Dev 18: 2024-2035.
McBride A. E., Cook J. T.*, Stemmler E. A., Rutledge K. L., McGrath K. A.* and Rubens J. A.* (2005) Arginine methylation of yeast mRNA-binding protein Npl3 directly affects its function, nuclear export, and intranuclear protein interactions. J Biol Chem. 280: 30888-98.
McBride, A. E., Zurita-Lopez, C., Regis, A.*, Blum, E.*, Conboy, A.*, Elf, S.* and Clarke, S. (2007) Protein arginine methylation in Candida albicans: Role in nuclear transport. Eukaryot. Cell 6: 1119-29.
Michael Palopoli, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biology
Bowdoin College.
mpalopol@bowdoin.edu
http://academic.bowdoin.edu/faculty/M/mpalopol/
BS University of Michigan 1987
MS University of Michigan 1989
PhD University of Chicago 1995
Postdoc University of Chicago 1995-1998Professor Palopoli’s diverse teaching and research interests are centered within the field of evolutionary genetics. Current research projects focus on nematode species in the genus Caenorhabditis and include the following: molecular evolution of a sperm transmembrane protein; molecular genetic mapping of a protein required for copulatory plug formation; comparison of sperm size variation and patterns of sperm competition between species with different mating systems; and using whole-genome databases to test current models for the evolution of intron size. Student projects include the molecular identification of ectomycorrhizal fungi across a dune chronosequence (in collaboration with John Lichter) and the molecular population genetics of human follicle mites.
Palopoli MF and Patel NH. (1996) Neo-Darwinian developmental evolution: Can we bridge the gap between pattern and process? Current Opinions in Genetics and Development 6(4):502-508.
Palopoli MF and Patel NH. (1998) Evolution of the interaction between Hox genes and a downstream target. Current Biology 8:587-590.
Palopoli MF. (2000) Genetic partners in crime: Evolution of an ultraselfish supergene that specializes in sperm sabotage. Pp. 113-126 in Wolf, J, ED Brodie III, and MJ Wade, (eds.) Epistasis and the Evolutionary Process. Oxford Press, Oxford.
Suzuki Y and Palopoli MF. (2001) Evolution of insect abdominal appendages: Are prolegs homologous or convergent traits? Development, Genes, and Evolution 211:486-492.
Graustein A, Walters J, Gaspar J and Palopoli MF. (2002) Levels of DNA polymorphism vary with mating system in the nematode genus Caenorhabditis. Genetics 161:99-107.
Prachumwat A, DeVincentis L and Palopoli MF. (2004) Intron size correlates positively with recombination rate in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 166:1585-1590.
Palopoli MF, Rockman MV, TinMaung A, Ramsay C, Curwen S, Aduna A, Laurita J, and Kruglyak L. (2008) Molecular basis of the copulatory plug polymorphism in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature (in press).
Elizabeth Stemmler, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Bowdoin College
estemmle@bowdoin.edu
http://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/e/estemmle/index.shtml
BS, Bates College, 1982, Chemistry
PhD, Indiana University, 1986, Analytical ChemistryThe research carried out in the Stemmler laboratory involves the development and applications of an ultra high-resolution mass spectrometric technique, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization –Fourier transform mass spectrometry (MALDI-FTMS), to problems in biological and environmental analysis. MALDI-FTMS is useful for the analysis of complex samples, such as single tissues from the nervous systems of crustaceans, with minimal sample preparation. The ultra high-resolution mass measurements and mass accuracy, coupled with the ability to carry out MS/MS experiments, make this a powerful technique for molecular characterization. The lab collaborates with Prof. Patsy Dickinson (Bowdoin College) and Dr. Andrew Christie (Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory as of September 2008) in studies of peptide neurotransmitters and hormones that control the behavior of crustaceans. Using mass spectrometry, the lab is able to identify novel neuropeptides and determine where neuropeptides are localized in crustacean nervous system tissues and in neuroendocrine organs. With information provided by molecular cloning and current models for preproprotein processing, mass spectrometry is used to determine peptides present in tissues and to identify whether peptides have undergone post-translational modifications.
E.A. Stemmler, Y. A Hsu, C. R. Cashman*, D. I. Messinger, H. O. de la Iglesia, P. S. Dickinson, A. E. Christie, “Direct tissue MALDI-FTMS profiling of individual Cancer productus sinus glands reveals that one of three distinct combinations of crustacean hyperglycemic hormone precursor-related peptide (CPRP) isoforms are present in individual crabs”, General and Comparative Endocrinology, 154, 187-192 (2007).
E.A. Stemmler, C.R. Cashman*, D.I. Messinger, N.P. Gardner*, P.S. Dickinson, A.E. Christie, “High resolution direct-tissue MALDI-FTMS reveals broad conservation of three neuropeptides (APSGFLGMRamide, GYRKPPFNGSIFamide and pQDLDHVFLRFamide) across members of seven decapod crustaean infraorders”, Peptides, 28, 2104-2115 (2007).
Y.A. Hsu, E.A. Stemmler, D. Messinger, P. S. Dickinson, A. E. Christie, H. de la Iglesia, “Cloning and differential expression of two β-pigment dispersing hormone (β -PDH) isoforms in the crab Cancer productus: Evidence for authentic β -PDH as a local neurotransmitter and β -PDH II as a humoral factor”, The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 508, 197-211 (2008).
A.E. Christie, C.R. Cashman*, H.R. Brennan*, M. Mingming, G. Sousa, L.J. Li, E.A. Stemmler, P.S. Dickinson, “Identification of putative crustacean neuropeptides using in silico analyses of publicly accessible expressed sequence tags”, General and Comparative Endocrinology, 156, 246-264 (2008).
P. S. Dickinson, E.A. Stemmler, C. Cashman*, H. Brennan*, B. Dennison*, K. Huber*, B. Peguero*, W. Rabacal*, C. Goiney, C. Smith, D. Towle, A. E. Christie, “SIFamide peptides in clawed lobsters and freshwater crayfish (Crustacea, Decapoda, Astacidea): A combined molecular, mass spectrometric and electrophysiological investigation”, General and Comparative Endocrinology, 156, 347-360 (2008).
P. S. Dickinson, E.A. Stemmler, A. Christie, “The pyloric neural circuit of the herbivorous crab Pugettia producta shows limited sensitivity to many neuromodulators that elicit robust effects from this system in more opportunistically feeding decapods”, Journal of Experimental Biology, 211, 1434-1447 (2008).
J. Lichter, S. Billings, A. C. Finzi, D. Gaindh*, R. B. Jackson, R. Ryals, E. A. Stemmler, S. Ziegler, W. H. Schlesinger, “Forest soil carbon dynamics under elevated CO2: Soil carbon sequestration in a pine forest after nine years of atmospheric CO2 enrichment”, Global Change Biology, in press.
Richmond R. Thompson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Bowdoin College
rthompso@bowdoin.edu
http://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/r/rthompso/index.shtml
BS Furman University 1989
PhD Cornell University 1996
Postdoc Oregon State University 1996-1999The main focus of research in Dr. Thompson’s lab is on the mechanisms through which the neuropeptide vasotocin influences social behavior in goldfish. Vasotocin is the evolutionary precursor to vasopressin, which is found in the brains of mammals, including humans. However, the fish vasotocin system is less specialized than are the vasotocin systems found in other non-mammalian vertebrates or the vasopressin systems found in mammals, which facilitates efforts to understand the fundamental ways through which these peptides influence social behavior in vertebrates. The lab has found that vasotocin infusions into the brain inhibit social approach behavior in goldfish, potentially by affecting brain systems involved in the regulation of anxiety. He has also been trying to determine where within the brain that vasotocin exerts such behavioral effects, and in so doing has identified a very well developed pattern of vasotocin terminal fibers in the hindbrain that could influence social behavior through autonomic regulatory mechanisms. Future work will use combined behavioral, neuroanatomical and molecular approaches to identify the precise brain circuits associated with vasotocin's behavioral actions in this species.
Thompson, R.R., George, K., Dempsey, J.,* & Walton, J.E. 2004. Visual sex discrimination in goldfish: seasonal, sexual and androgenic influences. Hormones and Behavior 46(5):646-54.
Thompson, R.R. & Walton, J.C. 2004. Peptide effects on social behavior: the effects of vasotocin and isotocin on social approach behavior in male goldfish. Behavioral Neuroscience, 118(3), 620-626.
Thompson, R.R., Gupta, S., Miller, K., Mills, S., & Orr, S. 2004. Vasopressin effects on facial responses related to social communication in human males. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 29, 35-48.
Thompson, R.R., George, K., Walton, J.C., Benson, J., Orr, S. (2006) Sex-specific influences of vasopressin on human social communication. In press, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science;103(20):7889-94.
Thompson, RR, Dickinson, PS, Rose, JL, Dakin, K*, Civiello, G*, Segerdahl, A*, and Bartlett,R*.(2008) Pheromones enhance somatosensory processing in newt brains through a vasotocin-dependent mechanism. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, UK, 275(1643); 1685-169.
Thompson, RR, Walton, JC, Bhalla, R,* George, KC,* Beth, EC.* (2008). A primitive social circuit: vastocin-substance P interactions in the hindbrain influence social behavior through a peripheral feedback mechanism. European Journal of Neuroscience, 27(9); 2285-2293.
BA, Oxford University, U.K., 1984, Mathematics
PhD, University of California, Berkeley, 1989, Mathematics
Mammalian neuroendocrine control of the menstrual/estrus cycle involves three-way feedback interactions between the ovaries and the hypothalamus and pituitary in the brain. Briefly: over the course of each cycle, the hypothalamus stimulates the pituitary to release nutrients to the ovaries, where the egg matures, releasing increasing levels of estradiol. This, in turn, initiates the critical reproductive event of the cycle: a sudden surge of hormone from the pituitary triggering ovulation (the LH surge). The precise mechanism by which estradiol initiates the LH surge has remained elusive, despite decades of intensive research. In the Zeeman lab, they combine experimentation with mathematical models to investigate the central role of the pituitary in integrating hypothalamic and reproductive steroid inputs to determinean LH response. 12-24 hour perfusion experiments with whole explanted mouse pituitaries and ELISA assays are used to gather time series of pituitary LH response to precisely controlled stimuli. This data provides kinetic parameters for ordinary differential models, which can then be used to simulate pituitary repsonse to more widely varying inputs over longer periods of time.
With E. C. Zeeman: An n-dimensional competitive Lotka-Volterra system is generically determined by the edges of its carrying simplex . Nonlinearity. 15 (2002) 2019-2032.
With E. C. Zeeman: From local to global dynamics in competitive Lotka-Volterra systems. Transactions of the American Mathematical Society. 355 (2003) 713-734.
First author with D. Gokhman and W. Weckesser: Resonance in the menstrual cycle: a new model of the LH surge. Reproductive Biomedicine Online. 7 (2003) 295-300.
With P. van den Driessche: Disease induced oscillations between two competing species. SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems. 3 (2005) 601-619.
Last author with J. H. Tien and D. Lyles: A potential role of modulating inosotol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor desensitization and recovery rates in regulating ovulation. J. Theoretical Biology. 232 (2005) 105-117.
Middle author with J. T. King, P. Lovell, M. Rishniw, M. I. Kotlikoff and D. P. McCobb: b2 and b4 Subunits of K Channels Confer Differential Sensitivity to Acute Modulation by Steroid Hormones. J. Neurophysiology. 95 (2006) 2878 – 2888.