Date of Completion

Winter 12-15-2023

Thesis Advisor(s)

Daniel Bolnick

Honors Major

Biological Sciences

Disciplines

Evolution | Genetics | Immunopathology | Laboratory and Basic Science Research

Abstract

The study of fibrosis in stickleback has been a growing field in which there have been a few studies conducted. This study examines two experiments involving the inhibition of fibrosis in stickleback. The first experiment used fish from the Kenai River Flats (KRF) in Alaska. The second experiment used fish from Roselle Lake in British Columbia, Canada. To determine the impact the drug had on fibrosis, sticklebacks from the KRF population were treated with DB1976 as well as alum, a pro‐inflammatory vaccine adjuvant that causes fibrosis (Kool et. al 2012). When each DB1976 + alum treatment group was compared with the alum treatment group, a significant reduction in fibrosis was found. With the Roselle Lake population, alum as well as proteins from S. solidus, a parasite found in Roselle Lake, were used to initiate fibrosis. No significant reduction in fibrosis was observed in either the DB1976 + worm protein group or the DB1976 + alum group. These results demonstrate a difference in response to treatment between two isolated populations of the same species.

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