Arctic | Mammals
Skin transcriptome analysis as a potential tool for health assessment in belugas Presenter: Ebru Unal , eunal@mysticaquarium.org, Mystic Aquarium Vijender Singh , vijender.singh@uconn.edu, University of Connecticut Robert Suydam , Robert.Suydam@north-slope.org, North Slope Borough Caroline Goertz , carrieg@alaskasealife.org, Alaska SeaLife Center Paul Wade , Paul.Wade@noaa.gov, Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries Tracy Romano , tromano@mysticaquarium.org, Mystic Aquarium The endangered Cook Inlet (CI) beluga whale stock is currently still declining despite efforts to promote recovery. Identification of alternative indicators is critical to contribute understanding of their health challenges to help with conservation efforts. This pilot study utilized skin transcriptomics using RNA sequencing technology to identify the biological and cellular processes that are activated or inhibited. The overarching goal is to expand this pilot study with sample numbers to provide extensive genomic resources to explore the links between genes and health including stress levels, infection and inflammation, and other immune and physiologic imbalances. Skin tissue, which is easily accessible in wild cetaceans, is a rich source of gene expression with diverse biological functions that are also represented in other tissue types. For this purpose, skin samples collected from endangered CI and stable Bristol Bay (BB), Eastern Chukchi Sea (ECS) beluga stocks through remote biopsy, health assessment studies and subsistence hunts were utilized for RNA sequencing. Comparisons of the transcriptomes obtained from these stocks displayed significant gene expression differences as reflected in principle component and heatmap analyses. This preliminary analysis resulted in identification of over 1,000 significantly regulated genes (p-adjusted<0.05, log2 fold-change>1) in CI stock when compared to BB or ECS stocks. The topmost differentially expressed genes were related with immune response and skin structural components showing downregulation in CI belugas. A pathway analysis was then carried out showing the footprint of the dataset on established signaling and metabolic (canonical) pathways. Significantly enriched (p-adjusted<0.05, z-scoreā„|2|) canonical pathways were identified in CI belugas in relation to the other two stocks, mostly including inhibited immune activity and cell signaling. This pilot study provides promising results towards understanding of global gene expression differences among populations. Through NPRB funding, additional samples will be analyzed in conjunction with other health- related data to further investigate associations with these pathways. Overall, this study proposes skin transcriptomics as a powerful tool to pinpoint key gene expression changes between populations, with potential to inform management decisions for conservation success of CI belugas.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium 2023 290
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