Correlation Between Stress Coping Styles and Genetic Variation in the Adenosine Pathway of Zebrafish
Month/Year of Graduation
5-2023
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Dr. Ryan Wong
Abstract
Anxiety is a common mental disorder and is caused in part by dysregulation of neurotransmitter systems. Specifically, the adenosine pathway has been correlated with anxiety disorders, but it is not yet known if genetic differences in this pathway are responsible for anxiety-related behavior. In this study, I used bioinformatic analyses (EdgeR and WGCNA) to investigate an RNA-sequencing dataset to assess differences in differential gene expression and gene co-expression networks within the adenosine pathway of zebrafish with different stress coping styles. These analyses included three brain regions: basolateral amygdala, hippocampus, and habenula. The differential gene expression analysis demonstrated that the adenosine deaminase gene was significantly proactive-biased while the adenosine receptor A2aa, acid phosphatase 1, and calcium binding protein 3 genes were significantly reactive-biased. WGCNA identified metabotropic glutamate receptors 5a and 5b genes as significantly correlated across multiple networks. The habenula brain region was linked to anxiety through the adenosine pathway by the differential gene expression analysis while the hippocampus was linked through weak preservation between the strains in WGCNA. The information gained from this project may be useful in uncovering the adenosine pathway’s role in anxiety and be utilized to further investigate the role of adenosine receptor A2aa in anxiety behavior.
Recommended Citation
Klucas, Sydney, "Correlation Between Stress Coping Styles and Genetic Variation in the Adenosine Pathway of Zebrafish" (2023). Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects. 236.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/university_honors_program/236