The trial lecture is: "Metabolic adaptations to high altitude hypoxia in vertebrates".
Time and place: Nov. 18, 2021 12:15 PM, Auditorium 2, the Kristine Bonnevie building and Zoom
The meeting opens for participation just before 12.15 PM, and closes for new participants approximately 15 minutes after the trial lecture has begun.
Main research findings
For the vast majority of animals, survival without oxygen is impossible. However, a few animals can survive long periods without any oxygen (i.e anoxia). The freshwater fish crucian carp, a close relative to the goldfish, has a unique ability to survive several months in anoxic waters during wintertime.
Studies on crucian carp have mostly been hypothesis-driven and focused on selected candidate proteins or metabolites with known importance for regulating physiological functions, while few discovery-driven approaches have been applied so far. This thesis therefore aims to verify known and discover unknown adaptations in the crucian carp's responses to anoxia and reoxygenation, by comprehensively surveying the proteome, phosphoproteome and metabolome in several tissues.
The proteomic results suggested tissue-specific regulation of mitochondrial proteins and proteins related to glucose metabolism, whereas regulation of protein phosphorylation in the brain and liver tissues included proteins involved in suppressing ATP-demanding processes and reactive oxygen species (ROS), and in controlling apoptosis. The metabolomic data suggested that the energy status of the heart recover more slowly when oxygen is returning compared to the other examined tissues. The thesis also provides insights into tissue-specific succinate handling, a metabolite that is implicated in ROS accumulation when oxygen returns.