Xiao Du

Ph.D. Candidate, Marine Biology and Ecology

University of Miami

Rosenstiel School Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

 

I am interested in 1) examining the effects of chronic anthropogenic pollution on the oxidative phosphorylation pathway (OxPhos) function and gene expression in hepatocytes from natural populations of the estuarine teleost, Fundulus heteroclitus, and 2) correlating any phenotypic changes with individual genotypes. Multiple F. heteroclitus populations have developed tolerance to pollutants at a variety of contaminated sites, and the central question we ask is, what differences in OxPhos function and gene expression appear to be affected by anthropogenic stressors, thus potentially being evolutionarily important for natural populations’ resistance to those stressors. To answer this question requires quantification of condition specific gene expression and metabolic function with biological replication, and an understanding of how gene expression affects metabolic function and how the underlying genotypes differ within and among natural populations adapted to different environments.

 

Email: xdu@rsmas.miami.edu

 

Publications

 

 Du, X., Crawford, D.L., Oleksiak, M.F., 2015. Effects of Anthropogenic Pollution on the Oxidative Phosphorylation Pathway of Hepatocytes from Natural Populations of Fundulus heteroclitus. Aquatic Toxicology 165, 231-240.