The wood frog, Rana sylvatica, has numerous adaptations that allow it to survive freezing of up to 65% of its total body water during the winter. Such adaptations have been found to include the expression of novel freeze responsive genes that are thought to be important for adaptation and survival. In this study, the tissue-specific stress responsive expression of one novel gene, fr47, was asse...

Survival in the frozen state depends on biochemical adaptations that deal with multiple stresses on cells including long-term ischaemia and tissue dehydration. We investigated whether the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) could play a regulatory role in the metabolic re-sculpting that occurs during freezing. AMPK activity and the phosphorylation state of translation factors were measured in l...

369 Following the suggestions of many friends who solicited me to spread the contribution of the Neapolitan physicians in the field of muscular dystrophies, I am proud – as Neapolitan to participate, for more than 50 years, to the activities of Neapolitan Social Associations and Research Institutes. The most significant events occurred in Naples or linked to Neapolitan researchers are summarize...

The wood frog (Rana sylvatica) can endure freezing of up to 65% of total body water during winter. When frozen, wood frogs enter a dormant state characterized by a cessation of vital functions (i.e., no heartbeat, blood circulation, breathing, brain activity, or movement). Wood frogs utilize various behavioural and biochemical adaptations to survive extreme freezing and component anoxia and deh...

The common wood frog, Rana sylvatica, utilizes freeze tolerance as a means of winter survival. Concealed beneath a layer of leaf litter and blanketed by snow, these frogs withstand subzero temperatures by allowing approximately 65-70% of total body water to freeze. Freezing is generally considered to be an ischemic event in which the blood oxygen supply is impeded and may lead to low levels of ...

We investigated hibernation physiology and freeze tolerance in a population of the wood frog, Rana sylvatica, indigenous to Interior Alaska, USA, near the northernmost limit of the species' range. Winter acclimatization responses included a 233% increase in the hepatic glycogen depot that was subsidized by fat body and skeletal muscle catabolism, and a rise in plasma osmolality that reflected a...

The wood frog, Rana sylvatica, from Interior Alaska survives freezing at -16°C, a temperature 10-13°C below that tolerated by its southern conspecifics. We investigated the hepatic freezing response in this northern phenotype to determine if its profound freeze tolerance is associated with an enhanced glucosic cryoprotectant system. Alaskan frogs had a larger liver glycogen reserve that was mob...

The physical and environmental attributes of landscapes often shape patterns of population connectivity by influencing dispersal and gene flow. Landscape effects on movement are typically evaluated for single species. However, inferences from multiple species are required for multi-species management strategies increasingly being applied in conservation. In this study, I compared the spatial ge...