INVESTIGATING POPULATION GENETICS AND SEASONAL VARIATION OF TRANSCRIPTION IN BROWN BEARS (URSUS ARCTOS) ...

• Main Author: Saxton, Michael William
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Washington State University 2022
• Subjects: brown bear; hibernation; insulin resistance; population genetics; transcriptomics; Diabetes; Molecular Biology; Ursus arctos
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.7273/000005504; https://rex.libraries.wsu.edu/esploro/outputs/doctoral/99900599557201842

Many brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations globally are geographically isolated and face threats from human land use. As a changing climate increases temperatures globally, particularly in the northern latitudes where most brown bears are found, the threats facing these populations are increasing. As a hibernating species brown bears physiology is uniquely tied to annual cycles in weather and food availability and changes in those patterns may disrupt this unique physiology. In my dissertation I worked to further our understanding of hibernation physiology. Improving this understanding may prove beneficial to humans as well as several aspects of hibernation physiology can act as biological models for human pathologies, from muscle wasting, to heart disease, to metabolic syndrome. Using RNA sequencing I evaluated muscle, liver, and adipose tissue in hibernating and active bears to further understand the molecular changes that drive the changing phenotypes between seasons. As bears become insulin resistant in ...