On June 11, 2014,Dr. Raymond W.M.Kwong from University of Ottawa visited South China Sea Institute of Oceanology(SCSIO) and gave an impressive presentation, under the invitation of Prof. ZHANG Li, key laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (LMB). More than thirty faculties and students from LMB and other colleges attended the seminar.

　　The seminar was hosted by Prof.ZHANG Li. Dr. Raymond gave a lecture entitled “Zebrafish as a model to study the endocrine control of ion homeostasis”. In the presentation, he elucidated using gene knockdown and/or gain-of-function technologies in developing zebrafish, several pathways were identified which play important roles in maintaining Ca2+ homeostasis during acclimation to acidic environment. These include activation of hormonally-mediated responses to promote Ca2+ uptake, and elevation in the expression of cell-fate transcription factors to stimulate proliferation of CA2+-transporting cells (ionocytes).