Ecay RDC grant

JOHNSON CITY – East Tennessee State University scientists are continuing their study of embryonic nutrient pathways in snakes in hopes of learning more about calcium absorption during the embryonic development of humans with the aid of a university Research Development Committee (RDC) grant.

Dr. Tom Ecay, a professor in the Quillen College of Medicine’s Department of Biomedical Sciences, is the lead investigator of this study.  Co-investigators are Drs. Jim Stewart and Rebecca Pyles in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biological Sciences.

Ecay explained that his team is studying the development of snakes and lizards because of the similarity of their systems to those of mammals and humans.

“One of our goals is to understand the origins of common themes in reptile and mammal embryonic development,” he said.  “And although this project concerns snakes that lay eggs, we also have an interest in snakes that give live birth, so another goal is to understand the origin of placentas and the placental transport of calcium and other nutrients in live-bearing animals.”

Ecay noted the importance of calcium not only to the embryonic formation of bone, but also to normal organ function and the development of both the nervous and musculoskeletal systems.

“There are a few key and common steps in the pathway for calcium absorption in tissues active in this process, including the intestine, kidney, placenta and embryonic tissues,” he said.  “We’re interested in the genetic or molecular switch that turns on and off the process in egg-laying and live-bearing snakes and if it differs in other reptiles, like alligators and turtles that include only egg-laying species.  Further, is the process similar to what is known in mammals and humans?  Does this now become a model for human embryonic calcium nutrition?

“We began years ago just trying to map the developmental timing and to identify the specific tissues involved in calcium transport,” he continued.  “Now we know when and where, and in the process we’ve learned a little of how the process works.  Now, we’re trying to learn about how this all works at the level of the gene, and whether the genetic mechanisms in reptiles are similar to mammals and humans.  With preliminary data from this project, we hope to obtain additional funding to ask if the genetic mechanisms are shared among different reptile lineages and with mammals or if novel genes and pathways are active in each group.”

Research conducted through a previous RDC grant several years ago led to a couple of grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), one of which provided funding for undergraduate training.  During the last three summers, nine undergraduates have participated in this line of embryonic research.  Some of these students have won awards for their work at national meetings, several have received additional fellowships from national organizations, and nearly all have gone on to enter graduate or professional school.

“A lot of this work is really attractive to undergraduates,” Ecay said.  “That’s so important to them as they seek admittance to graduate school, whether it’s here at ETSU or elsewhere.  Having research experience as an undergraduate is almost essential these days.”

Ecay and his team hope this current RDC-funded project will result in the preliminary data needed to apply for further NSF grant funding, which will not only allow them to continue to provide research training for undergraduates, but also to apply new technologies to their work.

“The aim of the grant is to use the newest technologies for DNA sequencing to find the important genetic elements responsible for this (nutrient transport) process,” Ecay said.  “With this DNA sequencing technology, what used to take months and years to sequence can now be completed in literally a couple of days.  So it really is moving to a whole new level of technology that has not been applied on reptiles as a model system, although there has been a lot of work done on humans and typical laboratory animals like mice and rats.

“We’re going to learn along with the students.  Since nobody’s looked in this direction, almost anything you find is certainly new and hopefully interesting.”