Dataset Information

Transcriptomic Profiling of Fibropapillomatosis in Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) From South Texas.

ABSTRACT: Sea turtle fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumor promoting disease that is one of several threats globally to endangered sea turtle populations. The prevalence of FP is highest in green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) populations, and historically has shown considerable temporal growth. FP tumors can significantly affect the ability of turtles to forage for food and avoid predation and can grow to debilitating sizes. In the current study, based in South Texas, we have applied transcriptome sequencing to FP tumors and healthy control tissue to study the gene expression profiles of FP. By identifying differentially expressed turtle genes in FP, and matching these genes to their closest human ortholog we draw on the wealth of human based knowledge, specifically human cancer, to identify new insights into the biology of sea turtle FP. We show that several genes aberrantly expressed in FP tumors have known tumor promoting biology in humans, including CTHRC1 and NLRC5, and provide support that disruption of the Wnt signaling pathway is a feature of FP. Further, we profiled the expression of current targets of immune checkpoint inhibitors from human oncology in FP tumors and identified potential candidates for future studies.

SUBMITTER: Blackburn NB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7943941 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Transcriptomic Profiling of Fibropapillomatosis in Green Sea Turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>) From South Texas.

Blackburn Nicholas B NB Leandro Ana Cristina AC Nahvi Nina N Devlin Mariana A MA Leandro Marcelo M Martinez Escobedo Ignacio I Peralta Juan M JM George Jeff J Stacy Brian A BA deMaar Thomas W TW Blangero John J Keniry Megan M Curran Joanne E JE

Frontiers in immunology 20210224

Sea turtle fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumor promoting disease that is one of several threats globally to endangered sea turtle populations. The prevalence of FP is highest in green sea turtle (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>) populations, and historically has shown considerable temporal growth. FP tumors can significantly affect the ability of turtles to forage for food and avoid predation and can grow to debilitating sizes. In the current study, based in South Texas, we have applied transcriptome sequ ...[more]

PMID: 33717164

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Project description:Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a disease characterized by epithelial tumors that can impede life-sustaining activities of sea turtles, especially green turtles (Chelonia mydas). FP is caused by a herpesvirus, but environmental factors are also thought to play a role in triggering FP tumor growth. In this study, we evaluate the epidemiology of FP tumors in green turtles along the coast of Espírito Santo, Brazil, a region where juvenile green turtles are known to aggregate with high FP prevalence. A dataset comprising 2024 beach-cast green turtles recorded through daily beach surveys on 400 km of coastline from 2018 to 2021 (inclusive) was evaluated. FP tumors were recorded in 40.9% of the individuals in this dataset, and presence of FP tumors was predicted by individual variables (presence of marine leeches, stranding code, curved carapace length, body mass-size residual) and characteristics of the stranding site (distance to nearest metallurgical plant, mean sea surface salinity (SSS), annual range of sea surface temperature (SST)). Additionally, a second dataset comprising detailed information about the size and anatomical distribution of tumors in 271 green turtles with FP from the same region was evaluated. Hierarchical clustering analysis revealed these turtles could be classified in three groups according to the anatomical distribution of their tumors, and in turn the group to which each turtle was assigned could be predicted by the study period (2010-2014 vs. 2018-2022) and by characteristics of the stranding/capture site (green turtle stranding density, mean sea surface chlorophyll-a concentration, mean SSS, mean SST, annual range of SST). These results corroborate that individual and environmental factors play a significant role driving FP epidemiology. Furthermore, the results suggest that rather than behaving as a single entity, FP may be seen as a mosaic of distinct anatomical patterns that are not necessarily driven by the same environmental factors.

Dataset Information

Transcriptomic Profiling of Fibropapillomatosis in Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) From South Texas.

Publications

Transcriptomic Profiling of Fibropapillomatosis in Green Sea Turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>) From South Texas.

Similar Datasets

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