title: Transcriptomic analysis of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) skin biopsies to assess the effects of emerging contaminants.
abstract: Chemicals discovered in water at levels that may be significantly different than expected are referred to as contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) because the risk to environmental health posed by their occurrence/frequency is still unknown. The worldwide distributed compounds perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and bisphenol A (BPA) may fall into this category due to effects on endocrine receptors. We applied an ex vivo assay using small slices of bioptic skin from the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, cultured and treated for 24 h with different PFOA or BPA concentrations to analyze global gene expression. RNA was labeled and hybridized to a species-specific oligomicroarray. The skin transcriptome held information on the contaminant exposure, potentially predictive about long-term effects on health, being the genes affected involved in immunity modulation, response to stress, lipid homeostasis, and development. The transcriptomic signature of dolphin skin could be therefore relevant as classifier for a specific contaminant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, 44121, Italy.
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lunardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, 44121, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Abelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Siena, 53100, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Panti
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Siena, 53100, Italy.
authors.forename: Letizia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marsili
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Siena, 53100, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Fossi
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, 44121, Italy. Electronic address: annalaura.mancia@unife.it.
authors.forename: Annalaura
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mancia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001706:Biopsy / Q000662:veterinary; D050681:Bottle-Nosed Dolphin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000187:drug effects*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Biomarkers; Bottlenose dolphin; Emerging contaminants; Ocean health; Transcriptome