title: Lack of variation in voltage-gated sodium channels of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) exposed to neurotoxic algal blooms.
abstract: In coastal marine ecosystems, neurotoxins produced by harmful algal blooms (HABs) often result in large-scale mortality events of many marine species. Historical and frequent exposure to HABs therefore may provide a strong selective pressure for adaptations that result in toxin resistance. Neurotoxin resistance has independently evolved in a variety of terrestrial and marine species via mutations in genes encoding the toxin binding sites within the voltage-gated sodium channel gene complex. Accordingly, we tested the hypothesis that genetic variation in the putative binding site of brevetoxins in common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) explains differences among individuals or populations in resistance to harmful Karenia brevis blooms in the Gulf of Mexico. We found very little variation in the sodium channel exons encoding the putative brevetoxin binding site among bottlenose dolphins from central-west Florida and the Florida Panhandle. Our study included samples from several bottlenose dolphin mortality events associated with HABs, but we found no association between genetic variation and survival. We observed a significant effect of geographic region on genetic variation for some sodium channel isoforms, but this can be primarily explained by rare private alleles and is more likely a reflection of regional genetic differentiation than the cause of different levels of HAB resistance between regions. In contrast to many other previously studied neurotoxin-resistant species, we conclude that bottlenose dolphins have not evolved resistance to HABs via mutations in genes encoding the brevetoxin binding site on the voltage-gated sodium channels.
authors.affiliation: Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA. Electronic address: kcammen@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kristina M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Cammen
authors.affiliation: National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, 646 Cajundome Blvd, Lafayette, LA 70506, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Rosel
authors.affiliation: Chicago Zoological Society, c/o Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236, USA.
authors.forename: Randall S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.affiliation: Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Read
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D050681:Bottle-Nosed Dolphin / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D005431:Florida; D014644:Genetic Variation; D057097:Harmful Algal Bloom; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D035964:Oxocins / Q000633:toxicity*; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000235:genetics*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D000095702:Polyether Toxins
chemical_list: D008387:Marine Toxins; D035964:Oxocins; D015222:Sodium Channels; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C053342:brevetoxin; D000095702:Polyether Toxins
keywords: Brevetoxin; Common bottlenose dolphin; Harmful algal bloom; Voltage-gated sodium channel genes