{"id":178065,"date":"2023-05-23T11:59:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T21:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=178065"},"modified":"2023-05-24T10:21:52","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T20:21:52","slug":"malintha-cao-continue-fish-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/05\/23\/malintha-cao-continue-fish-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Passing the torch: students continue mentor\u2019s fish research"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Tharindu Malintha, left, and Ke Cao, right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two students from the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources\u2019 (CTAHR<\/abbr>) Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences<\/a> are furthering the research of their mentor.<\/p>\n

In 2020, Associate Research Professor Andre Seale studied how fish recognize and tolerate<\/a> changes in aquatic environments, such as temperature and salinity—now, in 2023, graduate student Tharindu Malintha and undergraduate student Ke Cao were given an opportunity to shine in this field.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m extremely proud of these two young scientists,” said Seale. “Through their hard work and dedication, they produced impactful research while making speedy progress toward their personal and professional development.”<\/p>\n

Malintha and Seale have also conducted research together, and their work, “Osmosensitive transcription factors in the prolactin cell of a euryhaline teleost<\/a>,” appeared in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The students\u2019 findings<\/h2>\n

Under Seale\u2019s mentorship, Malintha found multiple transcription factors that are sensitive to ambient solute concentration. Transcription factors control multiple genes, including the one that encodes for prolactin, a hormone that in fish is important for salinity acclimation.<\/p>\n

“Transcription factors are molecules that turn genes on and off by binding to DNA<\/abbr>,” said Malintha, who defended his PhD<\/abbr> dissertation with “Environmentally Sensitive Transcription Factors in the Prolactin Cell, Gill and Kidney of Mozambique Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus<\/em>).”<\/p>\n

Malintha added that changes in temperature can activate or inhibit similar transcription factors and characterize the molecular pathways activated in gills and kidneys when fish are in different salinities.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Cao has been working on a project to show how tight-junction proteins help fish cope with change. Tight-junction proteins play a key role in maintaining structural integrity between cells. When fish are challenged with rapidly changing salinities, these proteins act to prevent excessive water movement across the gill.<\/p>\n

Cao\u2019s project was supported by an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program<\/a> (UROP<\/abbr>) award, and was presented at the 46th annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium and the UROP<\/abbr> undergraduate showcase.<\/p>\n

Read more at the CTAHR<\/abbr> website.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students Tharindu Malintha and Ke Cao continued Associate Research Professor Andre Seale\u2019s research on how fish tolerate changes in water.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[212,1485,1466,1467,1363,158,9,1497],"class_list":["post-178065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-human-nutrition-food-and-animal-sciences","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-publication","tag-uh-manoa","tag-urop","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t