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Mechanisms of Metabolic Depression
Sponsored by APS Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Section
Metabolism and Energy Track

Metabolic depression is a fundamental aspect of survival in many organisms, and has been hypothesized to be associated with depression in humans. Much recent work has been done in elucidating biochemical and molecular strategies that underlie metabolically-depressed states such as mammalian hibernation, diapause in insects, the metabolic depressions associated with the dry periods in the life history of annual killifish, and anoxia-induced quiescence in brine shrimp embryos.  Although seemingly disparate biological phenomena, all metabolic depressions share a need for coordination of downregulation of anabolic and catabolic processes in order to maintain homeostasis. This symposium will bring together researchers who work on the mechanistic intricacies of a diverse array of metabolic depressions.  These researchers’ paths rarely cross because they utilize different model organisms.  However, lessons learned in one taxon can often be applied to other taxa. Exploitation of this comparative approach to the study of metabolic depressions may be critical in identifying the underlying mechanisms of all metabolic depressions. Both newer investigators (e.g. Podrabsky and van Breukelen) and very established and well-respected investigators (e.g. Denlinger and Clegg) will participate. Between us, we have utilized a tremendous number of sophisticated techniques including metabolics, proteomics, and microarrays. We anticipate a symposium that ranges from in-depth molecular and physiological analyses to comparative syntheses that will be not only of interest to comparative physiologists but also to the many scientists at Experimental Biology who study metabolism, biochemical regulation, and the regulation of these processes.