TY - JOUR
T1 - Metabolomic profiling implicates mitochondrial and immune dysfunction in disease syndromes of the critically endangered black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)
AU - Corder, Molly L.
AU - Petricoin, Emanuel F.
AU - Li, Yue
AU - Cleland, Timothy P.
AU - DeCandia, Alexandra L.
AU - Alonso Aguirre, A.
AU - Pukazhenthi, Budhan S.
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank the following zoological institutions that made this research possible: Abilene Zoo, Blank Park Zoo, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Columbus Zoo, Denver Zoo, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, El Coyote Ranch, Fort Worth Zoo, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Lincoln Park Zoo, Little Rock Zoo, Milwaukee County Zoo, Potter Park Zoo, Sedgwick County Zoo, and White Oak Conservation Center. Lastly, we would like to thank the International Rhino Foundation for their financial support.
Funding Information:
We would like to thank the following zoological institutions that made this research possible: Abilene Zoo, Blank Park Zoo, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Columbus Zoo, Denver Zoo, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, El Coyote Ranch, Fort Worth Zoo, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Lincoln Park Zoo, Little Rock Zoo, Milwaukee County Zoo, Potter Park Zoo, Sedgwick County Zoo, and White Oak Conservation Center. Lastly, we would like to thank the International Rhino Foundation for their financial support.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, Springer Nature Limited.
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85171649241&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-023-41508-4
DO - 10.1038/s41598-023-41508-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 37726331
AN - SCOPUS:85171649241
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 13
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 15464
ER -