Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

My program explores the origins and consequences of variation in muscle energy production: how muscle metabolism is remodelled when needed and how differences in metabolic machinery arise between tissues and animals as a consequence of evolution and development. By comparing and contrasting models and experimental approaches, we hope to distinguish between regulatory pathways that are broadly conserved among animals and those that are responsible for unique features of specific tissues and animals.In the next grant cycle we take advantage of the growing database of genomic information to begin to tease apart the regulatory basis of interspecies differences in energy metabolism. We have a very good understanding of how a human muscle can change in response to physiological conditions, such as exercise. However, very little is known about how differences arise between species. The proximate questions focus on (i) how differences in muscle metabolic properties arise between lineages of mammals and (ii) whether the regulators that are critical in mammals are shared with primitive vertebrates. These studies help define the cellular and genetic pathways that are the underpinnings of diversity seen in nature, giving insight into the evolutionary origins of pathways known to be vital to our own metabolism.The experiments proposed will provide many training opportunities for students hoping to gain a greater understanding of the interactions between cell biology, evolution and physiology. Students will also gain important technical training that can be used to tackle questions in academia and industry.