Home Department: undeclared
Mentor: Lauren O’Connell (Biology)

“Examining Binding Dynamics in the Toxin Sponge Proteins of Poison Frogs”

Species that acquire chemical defenses from their diet must also evolve protection mechanisms that prevent self-intoxication. The O’Connell lab has discovered a new class of serpins within poison frogs that act as toxin sponges. Cyrus will examine the hypothesis that poison frog alkaloid binding globulins (ABG) have co-evolved to specifically bind the alkaloids present in a particular species. This project is a collaboration between labs in H&S (Biology) and the School of Medicine (Pathology).