Term of Award

Spring 2025

Degree Name

Master of Science in Biology (M.S.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Biology

Committee Chair

Aaron Schrey

Committee Member 1

Kathryn Craven

Committee Member 2

Alexander Collier

Abstract

The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus, EDB) is the largest rattlesnake in the world and is thought to be declining in many portions of its range. Genetic venom studies in the Southeast United States have shown evidence of fine-scale differences within two main geographic groups on Jekyll Island. My objective is to expand on this finding to determine if epigenetic mechanisms, specifically DNA methylation, varies among different populations of EDB in similar environments, age classes, and sexes. I collected EDB blood samples through a partnership with the Jekyll Island Authority and screened 44 individuals for epigenetic variation from the northern, southern, and causeway regions of the island. Five differentially methylated regions (DMR) were found with the strongest differences detected between north and south groups. This study suggests that habitat type may influence the number of DMR found between groups and epigenetic information unique to northern females may be transmitted to offspring. DMR related to environmental changes and habitat alterations as well as epigenetic inheritance from parent to offspring have also been documented between other species. The findings of my study are crucial to understand the complex relationship between epigenetic and genetic variation in populations and as a result are informative to management of this species.

OCLC Number

1520556339

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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