Date of Award
Winter 12-31-2015
Level of Access Assigned by Author
Open-Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Biological Sciences
Advisor
Harold B. Dowse
Second Committee Member
Mary S. Tyler
Third Committee Member
Leonard J. Kass
Additional Committee Members
Erik Johnson
Aaron Domina
Abstract
Chapter 1 of this manuscript is a literature review that serves as an introduction to the entire dissertation. Chapter 2 examines the effects of the melatonin injection on heart rate and rhythmicity in Drosophila melanogaster Canton-S (wild-type) pupae and pupae bearing a variety of heart mutations. Chapter 3 investigates further the possible mechanisms of melatonin’s ability to increase heart rhythmicity without significantly affecting heart rate. A melatonin antagonist, luzindole; a high-affinity melatonin agonist, 2-iodomelatonin and RNAi techniques are used to identify a possible melatonin receptor in Drosophila melanogaster.
An appendix contains a previously published manuscript detailing experiments performed at the beginning of my graduate studies before I began my work with melatonin. The paper is entitled The Relationship of Heart Function to Temperature in Drosophila melanogaster and its Heritability (Jennings et al., 2009).
Recommended Citation
VanKirk, Tricia L., "Effects of Melatonin on Heartbeat and Possible Identification of a Melatonin Receptor in Drosophila Melanogaster" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2401.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/2401