Seasonal variation in the skin transcriptome of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the northern Gulf of Mexico.

ABSTRACT: As long-lived predators that integrate exposures across multiple trophic levels, cetaceans are recognized as sentinels for the health of marine ecosystems. Their utility as sentinels requires the establishment of baseline health parameters. Because cetaceans are protected, measurements obtained with minimal disruption to free ranging animals are highly desirable. In this study we investigated the utility of skin gene expression profiling to monitor health and contaminant exposure in common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Remote integument biopsies were collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico prior to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (May 2010) and during summer and winter for two years following oil contamination (2010-2011). A bottlenose dolphin microarray was used to characteri

SUBMITTER: Van Dolah FM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4482424 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature