Dataset Information

Transcriptomic plasticity of mesophotic corals among natural populations and transplants of Montastraea cavernosa in the Gulf of Mexico and Belize

ABSTRACT: Variation in transciptomic patterns between shallow and mesophotic corals was assessed using tag-based RNA-Seq (Tag-Seq) through analysis of natural populations across four regions in the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, colonies were fate-tracked and repeatedly sampled to assess changes in gene expression through time in a transplant experiment between shallow and mesophotic depth zones at West and East Flower Garden Banks. This repository contains the raw .fastq.gz files for all sequenced samples.

ORGANISM(S): Montastraea cavernosa

PROVIDER: GSE107688 | GEO | 2019/12/31

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Common bottlenose dolphins serve as sentinels for the health of their coastal environments as they are susceptible to health impacts from anthropogenic inputs through both direct exposure and food web magnification. Remote biopsy samples have been widely used to reveal contaminant burdens in free-ranging bottlenose dolphins, but do not address the health consequences of this exposure. To gain insight into whether remote biopsies can also identify health impacts associated with contaminant burdens, we employed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to interrogate the transcriptomes of remote skin biopsies from 116 bottlenose dolphins from the northern Gulf of Mexico and southeastern U.S. Atlantic coasts. Gene expression was analyzed using principal component analysis, differential expression testing, and gene co-expression networks, and the results correlated to season, location, and contaminant burden. Season had a significant impact, with over 30% of genes differentially expressed between spring/summer and winter months. Geographic location exhibited lesser effects on the transcriptome, with 15% of genes differentially expressed between the northern Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern U.S. Atlantic locations. Despite a large overlap between the seasonal and geographical gene sets, the pathways altered in the observed gene expression profiles were somewhat distinct. Co-regulated gene modules and differential expression analysis both identified epidermal development and cellular architecture pathways to be expressed at lower levels in animals from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Although contaminant burdens measured were not significantly different between regions, some correlation with contaminant loads in individuals was observed among co-expressed gene modules, but these did not include classical detoxification pathways. Instead, this study identified other, possibly downstream pathways, including those involved in cellular architecture, immune response, and oxidative stress, that may prove to be contaminant responsive markers in bottlenose dolphin skin.

Dataset Information

Transcriptomic plasticity of mesophotic corals among natural populations and transplants of Montastraea cavernosa in the Gulf of Mexico and Belize

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