Renovation for the new site of the Department of Biology continues. Construction is expected to be nearing completion by the end of 2008 with the department moving into the new facility spring of 2009.
Recent graduate student, Jonathan Toot, graduated in December 2007 with his PhD and is presently working at WIL Lab in Ashland as a director of Neuropharmacological Research. Here is the abstract of a recently published article from him in collaboration with several UA Biology faculty.
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Testosterone influences renal electrolyte excretion in SHR/y and WKY males
Jonathan Toot1,2 
, Cathy Jenkins1,2 , Gail Dunphy1 , Shannon Boehme1 , Mike Hart1 , Amy Milsted1 , Monte Turner1 and Daniel Ely1 
1Biology Department, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-3908, USA
2School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
author email corresponding author email
BMC Physiology 2008, 8:5doi:10.1186/1472-6793-8-5
Abstract
Background
The Y-chromosome (Yc) and testosterone (T) increase blood pressure and may also influence renal electrolyte excretion. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine if the Yc combined with T manipulation could influence renal Na and K excretion.
Methods
To investigate the role of the Yc and T, consomic borderline hypertensive (SHR/y) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rat strains were used (15 weeks) in three T treatment groups: castrate, castrate with T implant and gonadally intact males. Urine was collected (24 hrs at 15 weeks of age) for Na and K measurements by flame photometry. RT-PCR was used to demonstrate the presence of renal androgen receptor (AR) transcripts. Plasma T and aldosterone were measured by RIA. In another experiment the androgen receptor was blocked using flutamide in the diet.
Results
Na and K excretion were decreased by T in SHR/y and WKY. AR transcripts were identified in SHR/y and WKY kidneys. Plasma aldosterone was decreased in the presence of T. Blockade of the AR resulted in a significant increase in Na excretion but not in K excretion in both SHR/y and WKY males.
Conclusion
T influences electrolyte excretion through an androgen receptor dependent mechanism. There was not a differential Yc involvement in electrolyte excretion between WKY and SHR/y males.
Students from the biology department are traveling to the tropics this May as part of 2 courses: Tropical Field Biology and Tropical Vertebrate Zoology. The first is traveling to Caicos Island in the Caribbean, and the second to the Florida Keys. You can read the student blog at:
The prominent pollination ecologist and botanist L. Walter Macior, Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Akron died October 5, 2007. Dr. Walt Macior was one of the scientists who invigorated the field of pollination in the 1960’s and 70’s with careful field observations, detailed morphometric measurements, and an emphasis on field work and natural history. His studies were important in providing the context and basic knowledge necessary for the vigorous growth of pollination ecology in the 1980s, and current workers owe him a debt of gratitude for his efforts. Dr. Macior had a special interest in the genus Pedicularis, and spent much of his career (which extended through the 1990s) documenting functional diversity of floral form in that group, and in its bumble bee pollinators. Dr. Macior was also active in dealing with creationism. As a Franciscan priest, Dr. Macior offered a unique perspective on the topic, bridging scientific and theological views. Honored by the University of Akron as both a teacher and researcher, he will be greatly missed.
more information is at: http://www3.uakron.edu/biology/macior/