Cytochrome P450 isozyme protein verified in the skin of southern hemisphere humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae): Implications for biochemical biomarker assessment

• Main Authors: Waugh, CA, Huston, WM, Noad, MJ, Bengtson Nash, S
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Marine Biology & Hydrobiology; Skin; Animals; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; Isoenzymes; Biological Markers; Water Pollutants; Chemical; Risk Assessment; Environmental Monitoring; Female; Male; Humpback Whale; Biomarkers; Megaptera novaeangliae
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10453/113162

Large mysticete whales represent a unique challenge for chemical risk assessment. Few epidemiological investigations are possible due to the low incidence of adult stranding events. Similarly their often extreme life-history adaptations of prolonged migration and fasting challenge exposure assumptions. Molecular biomarkers offer the potential to complement information yielded through tissue chemical analysis, as well as providing evidence of a molecular response to chemical exposure. In this study we confirm the presence of cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) and cytochrome P450 isoenzyme 1A1 (CYP1A1) in epidermal tissue of southern hemisphere humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). The detection of CYP1A1 in the integument of the humpback whale affords the opportunity for further quantitative non-destructive investigations of enzyme activity as a function of chemical stress. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.