Off-campus ETSU users: To download "Campus Only" theses, please use the following link to log in to our proxy server with your ETSU username and password.
Non-ETSU users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this thesis through interlibrary loan.
Degree Name
MS (Master of Science)
Program
Biology
Date of Award
5-2010
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
James R. Stewart
Committee Members
Thomas W. Ecay Jr., Rebecca A. Pyles
Abstract
Yolk supplies the majority of embryonic calcium in snakes. Oviparous and viviparous snakes also receive calcium late in development from the eggshell and placenta, respectively. The pattern and mechanism of calcium transport are partly understood for oviparous snakes. I studied a viviparous snake, Virginia striatula, to determine the pattern of embryonic calcium accumulation as well as the ontogenetic expression of calcium transporting proteins in extraembryonic tissues. The pattern of embryonic calcium uptake of V. striatula occurs late in development, during the phase of highest embryonic growth. Calbindin-D28k, Ca2+ ATPase, and carbonic anhydrase II are expressed in chorioallantoic membrane, while yolk sac only expresses calbindin-D28k, coincident with the timing of calcium transport in embryos of V. striatula. Thus, the pattern of embryonic calcium accumulation in V. striatula is similar to that of oviparous snakes. Although calbindin-D28k and Ca2+ ATPase are likely active in embryonic calcium transport, the role of carbonic anhydrase II remains less clear.
Document Type
Thesis - restricted
Recommended Citation
Fregoso, Santiago, "Pattern and Mechanism of Calcium Mobilization During Embryonic Development in a Viviparous Snake, Virginia striatula." (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1712. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1712
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.