Reference number : GC-2017-Q1-01542, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : Wood, Christopher (The University of British Columbia), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : British Columbia|Colombie-Britannique, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Discovery Grants Program - Individual, program name french : Programme de subventions à la découverte - individuelles, program purpose english : In a country with the longest coastline in the world, with 1/7 of the world&rsquo;s freshwater, &amp; an economy where fish and fisheries contribute over $17B annually (sportfishing ~ $10B, commercial fishing ~ $6B, aquaculture ~ $1B), the importance of understanding the basic physiology of fish &amp; protecting the health of natural waters cannot be overstated. The present application opens new frontiers in a long term research program aimed at understanding the mechanisms involved in the transport &amp; metabolism of nutrients, wastes, ions, acid-base equivalents, &amp; respiratory gases in fish, &amp; how these processes are modified by environmental conditions &amp; phylogeny. This basic research program underpins a parallel applied program in aquatic toxicology, aquaculture, &amp; environmental management. Mechanisms are analyzed at molecular, cellular, organ system, whole animal, &amp; behavioral levels simultaneously. A comparative approach is used with respect to species (trout, killifish, sharks, hagfish, zebrafish etc.) &amp; stressors (ammonia, O 2 , CO 2 , salinity, exercise, feeding). The four main areas are: (i) the physiology of ammonia &amp; urea metabolism; (ii) the &ldquo;osmorespiratory compromise&rdquo; which is the functional tradeoff between ion/water vs O 2 exchange at the gills; (iii) the physiology of feeding; (iv) the importance of dissolved organic matter (DOM, an abundant, ubiquitous but poorly understood component of all natural waters) in regulating gill physiology. Particular projects focus on the functions of NH 3 as a respiratory gas in the regulation of breathing, its interactions with O 2 &amp; CO 2 , the control of gene expression of ammonia-transporting Rh proteins in the gills &amp; kidney, &amp; their roles in the homeostatic regulation of ions, acid-base status, &amp; N-wastes. The mechanisms of N-scavenging are examined in N-limited sharks. The different types of osmorespiratory compromise, the contributions of transcellular vs paracellular pathways, &amp; their cellular/molecular bases are investigated in relation to salinity, habitat, &amp; behaviour of different species. Multiple aspects of feeding physiology are explored, including the importance of acid-base signals, the upregulation of transport pathways associated with food ingestion, &amp; the metabolism of the gut itself. The O 2 costs of feeding &amp; their interactions with hypoxia &amp; exercise performance are quantified. Through collaboration with a chemist, the relationships between the physical chemistry of different types of DOM molecules &amp; their supportive actions on gill ionoregulatory function are examined. Particular emphasis is placed on the role(s) of metal-binding moieties in DOM molecules, on structural changes in gills associated with DOM exposures, &amp; on the adaptation of fish to native DOMs. Overall, this program will train 3 postdoctoral fellows, 5 PhDs, &amp; 15 undergrads in innovative aspects of integrative fish physiology., program purpose french : In a country with the longest coastline in the world, with 1/7 of the world&rsquo;s freshwater, &amp; an economy where fish and fisheries contribute over $17B annually (sportfishing ~ $10B, commercial fishing ~ $6B, aquaculture ~ $1B), the importance of understanding the basic physiology of fish &amp; protecting the health of natural waters cannot be overstated. The present application opens new frontiers in a long term research program aimed at understanding the mechanisms involved in the transport &amp; metabolism of nutrients, wastes, ions, acid-base equivalents, &amp; respiratory gases in fish, &amp; how these processes are modified by environmental conditions &amp; phylogeny. This basic research program underpins a parallel applied program in aquatic toxicology, aquaculture, &amp; environmental management. Mechanisms are analyzed at molecular, cellular, organ system, whole animal, &amp; behavioral levels simultaneously. A comparative approach is used with respect to species (trout, killifish, sharks, hagfish, zebrafish etc.) &amp; stressors (ammonia, O 2 , CO 2 , salinity, exercise, feeding). The four main areas are: (i) the physiology of ammonia &amp; urea metabolism; (ii) the &ldquo;osmorespiratory compromise&rdquo; which is the functional tradeoff between ion/water vs O 2 exchange at the gills; (iii) the physiology of feeding; (iv) the importance of dissolved organic matter (DOM, an abundant, ubiquitous but poorly understood component of all natural waters) in regulating gill physiology. Particular projects focus on the functions of NH 3 as a respiratory gas in the regulation of breathing, its interactions with O 2 &amp; CO 2 , the control of gene expression of ammonia-transporting Rh proteins in the gills &amp; kidney, &amp; their roles in the homeostatic regulation of ions, acid-base status, &amp; N-wastes. The mechanisms of N-scavenging are examined in N-limited sharks. The different types of osmorespiratory compromise, the contributions of transcellular vs paracellular pathways, &amp; their cellular/molecular bases are investigated in relation to salinity, habitat, &amp; behaviour of different species. Multiple aspects of feeding physiology are explored, including the importance of acid-base signals, the upregulation of transport pathways associated with food ingestion, &amp; the metabolism of the gut itself. The O 2 costs of feeding &amp; their interactions with hypoxia &amp; exercise performance are quantified. Through collaboration with a chemist, the relationships between the physical chemistry of different types of DOM molecules &amp; their supportive actions on gill ionoregulatory function are examined. Particular emphasis is placed on the role(s) of metal-binding moieties in DOM molecules, on structural changes in gills associated with DOM exposures, &amp; on the adaptation of fish to native DOMs. Overall, this program will train 3 postdoctoral fellows, 5 PhDs, &amp; 15 undergrads in innovative aspects of integrative fish physiology., agreement title english : Transport and Metabolism in Fish, agreement title french : Transport and Metabolism in Fish, agreement number : RGPIN, agreement value : 550000.0, agreement start date : 2017-05-10, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year. (2017-2018 to 2022-2023), additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier. (2017-2018 à 2022-2023), owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada