1. Kansas State University
  2. »Division of Communications and Marketing
  3. »K-State Today
  4. »Division of Biology presents Katie Marshall on Sept. 29

K-State Today

September 28, 2017

Division of Biology presents Katie Marshall on Sept. 29

Submitted by Division of Biology

Katie Marshall, University of Oklahoma, will present "Mechanisms of freeze tolerance: lessons from space and time" as part of the Division of Biology seminar series at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, in 221 Ackert Hall. 

The lecture will derive from the freeze tolerance that is an extreme adaptation that is found broadly across the tree of life, including several animal lineages — both invertebrate and vertebrate — as well as in many plant species. Yet many questions remain about the basic mechanisms of freeze tolerance, particularly since the classical cryoprotectant systems do not seem to correlate well with the degree of freeze tolerance. Comparing organisms both across space and time is a useful method for elucidating novel freeze tolerance mechanisms even in well-described models of freeze tolerance.

In this talk, Marshall will focus on her work on insect and intertidal invertebrate freeze tolerance. She will start by describing a novel lipid class associated with freeze tolerance in the goldenrod gall fly and its seasonal dynamics associated with the acquisition of freeze tolerance. Marshall will describe omics approaches coupled with exploitation of spatial heterogeneity in degree of freeze tolerance for novel hypothesis generation in freeze tolerance in intertidal mussels and barnacles. While there does not appear to be a single mechanism for freeze tolerance, it appears to be a readily evolvable trait in which many of the same major biochemical players repeatedly appear.

If you would like to visit with Marshall, please contact Ted Morgan at tjmorgan@k-state.edu