Metabolomic profiling implicates mitochondrial and immune dysfunction in disease syndromes of the critically endangered black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis).

ABSTRACT: The critically endangered black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis; black rhino) experiences extinction threats from poaching in-situ. The ex-situ population, which serves as a genetic reservoir against impending extinction threats, experiences its own threats to survival related to several disease syndromes not typically observed among their wild counterparts. We performed an untargeted metabolomic analysis of serum from 30 ex-situ housed black rhinos (Eastern black rhino, EBR, n = 14 animals; Southern black rhino, SBR, n = 16 animals) and analyzed differences in metabolite profiles between subspecies, sex, and health status (healthy n = 13 vs. diseased n = 14). Of the 636 metabolites detected, several were differentially (fold change > 1.5; p < 0.05) expressed between EBR vs. SBR (40 metabolit

SUBMITTER: Corder ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10509206 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature