Of Whales and Genes: Unraveling the Physiological Response to Stressors in Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) at the Molecular Level
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Animals and Samples
2.2. RNA Extraction and qPCR Quantification
2.3. Hematology and Hormone Analysis
2.4. Analyses and Statistics
3. Results
3.1. Transport and Novel Environment (T/NEnv) Study
3.2. Out-of-Water Examination (OWE) Study
3.3. Wild Beluga Live Capture–Release (WLCR) Study
3.4. Relationships with Other Variables
4. Discussion
4.1. T/NEnv Event
4.2. OWE Event
4.3. WLCR Event
4.4. Relationship of Gene Expression with Hormones and Hematology
4.5. Limitations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
EPI | Epinephrine |
NE | Norepinephrine |
CORT | Cortisol |
ACTH | Adrenocorticotropic hormone |
HPA | Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal |
NEUT | Neutrophil absolute counts |
LYMP | Lymphocyte absolute counts |
MON | Monocyte absolute counts |
EOS | Eosinophil absolute counts |
OWE | Out of water examination |
T/NEnv | Transport and Novel environment |
Tr | Transport |
Tr-1 | First whale transport |
Tr-2 | Return transport of the whales |
WLCR | Wild live capture-release |
PCR | Polymerase chain reaction |
qPCR | Quantitative polymerase chain reaction |
mRNA | Messenger RNA |
Cq | Cycle quantification (threshold) values for qPCR |
∆Cq | Delta Cq representing reference gene normalized values |
MIQE | Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments |
CI | Confidence intervals |
LMM | Linear Mixed Model |
VIF | Variance Inflation Factor |
MLE | Maximum Likelihood Estimation |
IFNγ/IFNg | Interferon gamma |
IL2 | Interleukin-2 |
IL10 | Interleukin-10 |
IL12 | Interleukin-12 |
IL18 | Interleukin-18 |
COX2 | Cyclooxygenase-2 |
TGFβ/TGFb | Transforming growth factor beta |
Nr3c1 | Glucocorticoid receptor |
TLR4 | Toll-like receptor-4 |
HSP70 | Heat shock protein 70 |
GAPDH | Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase |
RPS9 | Ribosomal protein S9 |
Th1 | T-helper cell type I |
Th2 | T-helper cell type II |
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Events | Sample Group | Markers Measured | Time Points | Sample No | Sample Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
T/NEnv (Aquarium whales) | Transported whales (n = 7) | IFNγ, IL2, IL12, COX2, TGFβ, Nr3c1, IL10, TLR4, HSP70 | Transport-1 arrival Transport acclimation Transport-2 pre Transport-2 arrival | 5 | August–September 2008 September 2008–April 2009 April–May 2009 April–May 2009 |
6 | |||||
7 | |||||
5 | |||||
Resident whales (n = 3) | IFNγ, IL2, COX2, TGFβ, Nr3c1 | Resident baseline Resident arrival Resident acclimation | 3 | July–August 2008 August–September 2008 October–November 2008 | |
2 | |||||
4 | |||||
OWE (Aquarium whales) | OWE-1 (n = 3) OWE-2 (n = 2) OWE-3 (n = 1) | IFNγ, IL2, IL12, IL18, TLR4, COX2, TGFβ, Nr3c1, HSP70 | Baseline/OWE/Post-OWE Baseline/OWE/Post-OWE OWE/Post-OWE | 22 | May–June 2011 April 2013 May 2013 |
11 | |||||
3 | |||||
WLCR (Wild whales) | Bristol Bay 2014 (n = 10) Bristol Bay 2016 (n = 9) | IFNγ, IL12, TGFβ, AHR | Pre- and post-assessment Pre- and post-assessment | 19 | September 2014 September 2016 |
15 |
Gene | N | NE (102× pg/mL) | ACTH (10× pg/mL) | CORT (µg/dL) | NEUT (103/µL) | LYMP (103/µL) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
IFNγ | 85–94 | −0.656 (<0.001) | n.s. | n.s. | 0.223 (0.041) | n.s. |
IL2 | 34–61 | −0.496 (0.006) | −0.555 (0.035) | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. |
IL12 | 66–86 | n.s. | n.s. | 0.571 (0.038) | 0.464 (0.004) | −0.365 (0.003) |
IL18 | 25–28 | −0.582 (0.031) | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | 0.218 (0.033) |
COX2 | 33–61 | −0.684 (0.046) | −1.557 (0.014) | n.s. | 0.377 (0.001) | n.s. |
AHR | 30–34 | n.s. | n.s. | 4.557 (<0.001) | n.s. | −1.730 (0.002) |
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Unal, E.; Romano, T.A. Of Whales and Genes: Unraveling the Physiological Response to Stressors in Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) at the Molecular Level. J. Zool. Bot. Gard. 2021, 2, 559-575. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg2040040
Unal E, Romano TA. Of Whales and Genes: Unraveling the Physiological Response to Stressors in Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) at the Molecular Level. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens. 2021; 2(4):559-575. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg2040040
Chicago/Turabian StyleUnal, Ebru, and Tracy A. Romano. 2021. "Of Whales and Genes: Unraveling the Physiological Response to Stressors in Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) at the Molecular Level" Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 2, no. 4: 559-575. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg2040040