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Acetylcholine-Induced Membrane-Potential Oscillations In Xenopus Laevis Oocytes, Corrine N. Grant

Honors College

Over the past several years, amphibian species have shown a sharp decline in population numbers. Many factors are believed to play a role in the loss of amphibian species. One of particular interest is the increase in ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaching Earth’s surface. To estimate the health of a species, an assay needed to be developed. Health can be determined by measuring the ion channel functionality of the amphibian oocyte membrane. To develop this assay, we used acetylcholine to induce a membrane-potential oscillation in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Several studies have studied the membrane-potential oscillation of calcium-dependent chloride channels activated by …