1H NMR metabolomic analysis of skin and blubber of bottlenose dolphins reveals a functional metabolic dichotomy

Publication date: June 2019Source: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D: Genomics and Proteomics, Volume 30Author(s): Misra Biswapriya Biswavas, Ruiz-Hernández Ixchel Mariel, Hernández-Bolio Gloria Ivonne, Hernández-Núñez Emanuel, Díaz-Gamboa Raúl, Colli-Dula Reyna CristinaAbstractThe common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is a carnivorous cetacean that thrives in marine environments, one of the apex predators of the marine food web. They are found in coastal and estuarine ecosystems, which are known to be sensitive to environmental impacts. Dolphins are considered sentinel organisms for monitoring the health of coastal marine ecosystems due to their role as predators that can bioaccumulate contaminants. Although recent studies have focused on capturing the circulating metabolomes of these mammals, and in the context of pollutants and exposures in the marine environment, skin and blubber are important surface and protective tissues that have not been adequately probed for metabolism. Using a 1H NMR based metabolomics approach, we quantified 51 metabolites belonging to 74 different metabolic pathways in the skin and blubber of stranded bottlenose dolphin (n = 4) samples collected at different localities in the Southern Zone coast of Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Results indicate that metabolism of skin and blubber are quantitatively very different. These metabolite abundances could help discriminate the tissue-types using supervised partial least sq...
Source: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D: Genomics and Proteomics - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research