6th Annual Judith Ramaley Celebration of Research and Creative Scholarship
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Poster #88 Adaptive Changes in Turtle Hemoglobin Samantha Rawson, Kelsey Gustafson, Jorge Polanco Faculty Mentor: Amy Runck Turtles are able to live in extreme low oxygen (hypoxic) conditions. Some turtle species are capable of hibernating for 5 to 6 months to a year buried in mud or cold water while others can stay under water for up to an hour at temperatures of 10°C. Hemoglobin is an iron-containing oxygen-transport protein in red blood cells; with its structure determining its ability to bind oxygen in different conditions. Blood samples were obtained from the Western Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) and Red Eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) and mRNA was isolated. A reverse transcriptase PCR was conducted using primers to amplify b-globin. The PCRs were cloned and automated sequencing was conducted. Beta-globin sequences were translated to protein sequences and compared and examined for changes in amino acid residues which may result in a higher oxygen affinity for the hemoglobin protein under low oxygen conditions. |
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