Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Epublish 4 citations
PubMed: 37726331 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41508-4
Metabolomic profiling implicates mitochondrial and immune dysfunction in disease syndromes of the critically endangered black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis).
Sci Rep 13(1):15464
Authors: Molly L Corder, Emanuel F Petricoin, Yue Li, Timothy P Cleland, Alexandra L DeCandia, A Alonso Aguirre, Budhan S Pukazhenthi
Affiliations
- Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Center for Species Survival, Front Royal, 22630, USA. Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, George Mason University, Manassas, 20900, USA. Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, USA.
- Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, George Mason University, Manassas, 20900, USA.
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
- Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute, Suitland, MD, 20746, USA.
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Center for Conservation Genomics, Washington, DC, 20008, USA.
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 80523, USA.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Center for Species Survival, Front Royal, 22630, USA.
Abstract
The critically endangered black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis; black rhino) experiences extinction threats from poaching in-situ. The ex-situ population, which serves as a genetic reservoir against impending extinction threats, experiences its own threats to survival related to several disease syndromes not typically observed among their wild counterparts. We performed an untargeted metabolomic analysis of serum from 30 ex-situ housed black rhinos (Eastern black rhino, EBR, n = 14 animals; Southern black rhino, SBR, n = 16 animals) and analyzed differences in metabolite profiles between subspecies, sex, and health status (healthy n = 13 vs. diseased n = 14). Of the 636 metabolites detected, several were differentially (fold change > 1.5; p < 0.05) expressed between EBR vs. SBR (40 metabolites), female vs. male (36 metabolites), and healthy vs. diseased (22 metabolites). Results suggest dysregulation of propanoate, amino acid metabolism, and bile acid biosynthesis in the subspecies and sex comparisons. Assessment of healthy versus diseased rhinos indicates involvement of arachidonic acid metabolism, bile acid biosynthesis, and the pentose phosphate pathway in animals exhibiting inflammatory disease syndromes. This study represents the first systematic characterization of the circulating serum metabolome in the black rhinoceros. Findings further implicate mitochondrial and immune dysfunction as key contributors for the diverse disease syndromes reported in ex-situ managed black rhinos.
MeSH
Bile, Serum, Metabolomics, Sex, Natural Science Disciplines