An example of DNA methylation as a means to quantify stress in wildlife using killer whales
Abstract The cumulative effects of non-lethal stressors on the health of biodiversity are a primary concern for conservation, yet difficulties remain regarding their quantification. In mammals, many stressors are processed through a common stress-response pathway, and therefore epigenetic changes in...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:bee911b43061469eb831cdac45dee937 2023-05-15T17:03:27+02:00 An example of DNA methylation as a means to quantify stress in wildlife using killer whales Carla A. Crossman Lance G. Barrett-Lennard Timothy R. Frasier 2021-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96255-1 https://doaj.org/article/bee911b43061469eb831cdac45dee937 EN eng Nature Portfolio https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96255-1 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-021-96255-1 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/bee911b43061469eb831cdac45dee937 Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2021) Medicine R Science Q article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96255-1 2022-12-31T13:57:04Z Abstract The cumulative effects of non-lethal stressors on the health of biodiversity are a primary concern for conservation, yet difficulties remain regarding their quantification. In mammals, many stressors are processed through a common stress-response pathway, and therefore epigenetic changes in genes of this pathway may provide a powerful tool for quantifying cumulative effects. As a preliminary assessment of this approach, we investigated epigenetic manifestations of stress in two killer whale populations with different levels of exposure to anthropogenic stressors. We used bisulfite amplicon sequencing to compare patterns of DNA methylation at 25 CpG sites found in three genes involved in stress response and identified large differences in the level of methylation at two sites consistent with differential stress exposure between Northern and Southern Resident killer whale populations. DNA methylation patterns could therefore represent a useful method to assess the cumulative effects of non-lethal stressors in wildlife. Article in Journal/Newspaper Killer Whale Killer whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Scientific Reports 11 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Carla A. Crossman Lance G. Barrett-Lennard Timothy R. Frasier An example of DNA methylation as a means to quantify stress in wildlife using killer whales |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Abstract The cumulative effects of non-lethal stressors on the health of biodiversity are a primary concern for conservation, yet difficulties remain regarding their quantification. In mammals, many stressors are processed through a common stress-response pathway, and therefore epigenetic changes in genes of this pathway may provide a powerful tool for quantifying cumulative effects. As a preliminary assessment of this approach, we investigated epigenetic manifestations of stress in two killer whale populations with different levels of exposure to anthropogenic stressors. We used bisulfite amplicon sequencing to compare patterns of DNA methylation at 25 CpG sites found in three genes involved in stress response and identified large differences in the level of methylation at two sites consistent with differential stress exposure between Northern and Southern Resident killer whale populations. DNA methylation patterns could therefore represent a useful method to assess the cumulative effects of non-lethal stressors in wildlife. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Carla A. Crossman Lance G. Barrett-Lennard Timothy R. Frasier |
author_facet |
Carla A. Crossman Lance G. Barrett-Lennard Timothy R. Frasier |
author_sort |
Carla A. Crossman |
title |
An example of DNA methylation as a means to quantify stress in wildlife using killer whales |
title_short |
An example of DNA methylation as a means to quantify stress in wildlife using killer whales |
title_full |
An example of DNA methylation as a means to quantify stress in wildlife using killer whales |
title_fullStr |
An example of DNA methylation as a means to quantify stress in wildlife using killer whales |
title_full_unstemmed |
An example of DNA methylation as a means to quantify stress in wildlife using killer whales |
title_sort |
example of dna methylation as a means to quantify stress in wildlife using killer whales |
publisher |
Nature Portfolio |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96255-1 https://doaj.org/article/bee911b43061469eb831cdac45dee937 |
genre |
Killer Whale Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Killer Whale Killer whale |
op_source |
Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96255-1 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-021-96255-1 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/bee911b43061469eb831cdac45dee937 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96255-1 |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766057329300602880 |