The Effects of Developmental Starvation on Growth in Parasteatoda tepidariorum

Cellular chemical signals help organisms respond or adapt to environmental stresses throughout their lifetime to optimize survival and reproduction. In invertebrates, two neurotransmitters, octopamine and serotonin influence various life sustaining behaviors such as predatation, predator avoidance, and mating and are also critical for stress induced changes in behavior and physiology (ex. immune function). A previous study conducted in the nematode worm, C. elegans, demonstrated that starvation, a stressor, at crucial developmental periods altered the levels of these neurotransmitters, and resulted in abnormal growth and behavior of male worms. In this study, we sought to determine whether the common house spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum (P. Tep.) is susceptible to the effects of developmental starvation through analysis of growth, adult behavior, and expression of serotonin and octopamine synthesizing enzymes and receptors. Here we report that growth was affected by developmental starvation during the juvenile and adult stages. We are currently analyzing expression and behavioral data to determine if these processes were also affected by this stressor.

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Work Title The Effects of Developmental Starvation on Growth in Parasteatoda tepidariorum
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Open Access
Creators
  1. Joel Burkholder
  2. Juan Alexander Sanchez Caba
Keyword
  1. Penn State York Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Accomplishments, Arts and Liberal Sciences
  2. Engineering, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Poster
Publication Date April 9, 2021
Deposited April 09, 2021

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