Project description:Targeted approaches have been widely used to help explain physiological adaptations, but few studies have used non-targeted omics approaches to explore differences between diving marine mammals and terrestrial mammals. A rank comparison of undepleted serum proteins from common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and pooled normal human serum led to the discovery of 11 proteins that appeared exclusive to dolphin serum. For dolphin proteins that did not match human serum proteins, a second comparison was made with Yorkshire pig (Sus scrofa)serum proteins to determine whether phylogenetic differences in serum proteins could simply explain the differences between dolphin and human. Three out of 11 proteins that were considered unique to the dolphin high abundance serum proteome were ranked within the high abundance pig serum proteome. Compared to the comprehensive human plasma proteome, 5 of 11 serum proteins had a differential rank greater than 200. Major differences exist in the circulating blood proteome of the bottlenose dolphin compared to terrestrial mammals and exploration of these differences in bottlenose dolphins and other marine mammals may identify veiled protective strategies to counter physiological stress.
Project description:Urinary proteins provide valuable insights into renal health, with implications spanning human and domestic animal veterinary medical research. However, the field of marine mammal medicine lacks comprehensive studies on urine protein composition. This research aimed to fill this gap by 1) selecting an optimal search strategy that yields the highest number of protein families in the bottlenose dolphin urine based on post-translational modifications (PTMs), 2) describing the urine proteome of wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Gulf of the Mexico, USA, considering sex (females vs. males), site (Barataria Bay, LA vs. Sarasota Bay, FL), and comparing with California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). Ten urine samples (Barataria Bay, LA: N= 6; Sarasota Bay, FL: N=4) collected during 2023 catch-and-release heath assessment were proteolytically digested and analyzed using an UltiMate 3000 Nano LC and Fusion Lumos Orbitrap mass spectrometer. A 2-step search strategy, incorporating dehydroalanine formation and semi-trypsin on the list of unassigned spectra, significantly increased the number of identified protein families by an average of 6.2% compared to the 1-step strategy (P < 0.001, t = -8.32). The top 30 proteins in bottlenose dolphin urine were ranked according to an exponentially modified protein abundance index for comparison based on sex, site, and species. There were no significant differences in urine proteins between sexes or sites (padj > 0.05), although there was sperm contribution in two of the male bottlenose dolphin urine samples. Two putative antimicrobial proteins (cathelicidin and lysozyme) were identified and found to be abundant in bottlenose dolphin urine, similar to California sea lions. The study also identified 27 potential markers of acute kidney injury and 12 regulators of kidney stone formation. This study established a reference database of urinary proteins from bottlenose dolphins, aiding future research in monitoring and evaluating renal health in marine mammals.
Project description:Four captive bottlenose dolpins housed in Kona, Hawaii, were serially sampled at approximately monthly intervals over the course of one year, in order to establish baseline information on the content and variation of the dolphin blood transcriptome.
Project description:Archived skin samples collected during common bottlenose dolphin health assessments in Barataria Bay, LA from 2016 to 2017 were analyzed by RNA-seq to support and enhance the assessment of animal health. The transcriptomic data were analyzed in conjunction with the substantial pool of health and environmental data collected during health assessments to investigate the utility of transcriptomic data in overall assessment of dolphin health and/or as markers of specific health concerns.
Project description:Archived blood samples collected during common bottlenose dolphin health assessments in the northern Gulf of Mexico from 2013 to 2018 were analyzed by RNA-seq to support and enhance the assessment of animal health. The transcriptomic data were analyzed in conjunction with the substantial pool of health and environmental data collected during health assessments to investigate the utility of transcriptomic data in overall assessment of dolphin health and/or as markers of specific health concerns.
Project description:Proteomic analysis of six tissues (liver, kidney, blubber, brain, muscle, skin) provided experimental confirmation of 10,402 proteins from 4,711 protein groups, almost 1/3 of the possible predicted proteins in the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) NCBI annotation (release 101), which is based on the recently completed NIST Tur_tru v1 genome assembly.
Project description:Common bottlenose dolphins serve as sentinels for the health of their coastal environments as they are susceptible to health impacts from anthropogenic inputs through both direct exposure and food web magnification. Remote biopsy samples have been widely used to reveal contaminant burdens in free-ranging bottlenose dolphins, but do not address the health consequences of this exposure. To gain insight into whether remote biopsies can also identify health impacts associated with contaminant burdens, we employed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to interrogate the transcriptomes of remote skin biopsies from 116 bottlenose dolphins from the northern Gulf of Mexico and southeastern U.S. Atlantic coasts. Gene expression was analyzed using principal component analysis, differential expression testing, and gene co-expression networks, and the results correlated to season, location, and contaminant burden. Season had a significant impact, with over 30% of genes differentially expressed between spring/summer and winter months. Geographic location exhibited lesser effects on the transcriptome, with 15% of genes differentially expressed between the northern Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern U.S. Atlantic locations. Despite a large overlap between the seasonal and geographical gene sets, the pathways altered in the observed gene expression profiles were somewhat distinct. Co-regulated gene modules and differential expression analysis both identified epidermal development and cellular architecture pathways to be expressed at lower levels in animals from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Although contaminant burdens measured were not significantly different between regions, some correlation with contaminant loads in individuals was observed among co-expressed gene modules, but these did not include classical detoxification pathways. Instead, this study identified other, possibly downstream pathways, including those involved in cellular architecture, immune response, and oxidative stress, that may prove to be contaminant responsive markers in bottlenose dolphin skin.
Project description:Trace elements are the result of natural and anthropogenic sources. Some of them are toxic causing alterations in the properties of membranes and produce lipid peroxidation. The dataset presented here is associated with the research article paper entitled “Trace element and lipidomic analysis of bottlenose dolphin blubber from the Yucatan coast: Lipid composition relationships”. In this article, we presented the trace element concentrations found in blubber and their comparison with other studies. Lipidomic characterization of bottlenose dolphin blubber and their association with trace elements and the differences related to biological characteristics. This data provides a correlation analysis between trace element concentrations and lipid species related to biological characteristics. We used Spearman correlation analysis to identify the association with body length and Wicolxon rank-sum test to determine differences in lipids related to stranding code, growth stage and stomach content. The data indicates that Cr, Cd and Zn concentrations were higher compared to other studies. Cr, Co, As and Cd were found in higher concentration in larger organisms. A decrease in some ceramides, sterols, glycerolipids and phosphatydilglyceros related to higher dolphins were found. Decomposition causes a decrease in phosphoethanolamines. Organisms with empty stomachs showed higher concentrations of phosphoethanolamines suggesting a preferential metabolism of energy-rich lipids over structural lipids. The information in these datasets may contribute to understanding the potential associations of trace element, lipid and their associations with biological characteristics.