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Abstract
The present study was aimed at determining the characteristics of plasma metabolites in bottlenose dolphins to provide a greater understanding of their metabolism and to obtain information for the health management of cetaceans. Capillary electrophoresis-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (CE-TOFMS) and liquid chromatograph-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOFMS) were conducted on plasma samples after overnight fasting from three common bottlenose dolphins as well as three beagle dogs (representative terrestrial carnivores) for comparison. In total, 257 and 227 plasma metabolites were identified in the dolphins and the dogs, respectively. Although a small number of animals were used for each species, the heatmap patterns, a principal component analysis and a cluster analysis confirmed that the composition of metabolites could be segregated from each other. Of 257 compounds detected in dolphin plasma, 24 compounds including branched amino acids, creatinine, urea, and methylhistidine were more abundant than in dogs; 26 compounds including long-chained acyl-carnitines and fatty acids, astaxanthin, and pantothenic acid were detected only in dolphins. In contrast, 25 compounds containing lactic acid and glycerol 3-phosphate were lower in dolphins compared to dogs. These data imply active protein metabolism, differences in usage of lipids, a unique urea cycle, and a low activity of the glycolytic pathway in dolphins.
Highlights
Cetaceans are carnivorous mammals living in aquatic environments
In the analysis of plasma metabolomics after overnight fasting in common bottlenose dolphin and beagle dog, a total of 297 peaks were determined as candidate compounds by CE-TOFMS and LC-TOFMS: 170 hydrosoluble metabolites by CE-TOFMS and 127 lipophilic metabolites by LC-TOFMS
The number of compound detected were similar in the two analyzed species; they were similar to the reported previously for human plasma[12], and slightly larger than that the 227 compounds detected in the plasma of northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), the only marine mammal species reported to date[13,14]
Summary
Cetaceans are carnivorous mammals living in aquatic environments. To overcome the difficulties associated with an aquatic lifestyle, cetaceans have evolved a range of physiological and morphological modifications[1]. Adjustment to a marine environment is associated with the development of an extremely thick subcutaneous adipose layer (up to 50% of the body mass)[2], formation of massive skeletal muscles[3], a unique system for blood glucose balance[4], a specialized osmoregulatory system[5], and a diving response[6]. These specializations may influence the metabolism of dolphins by controlling cellular processes in response to various stimuli, nutritional conditions, and internal status. In the present study, we sought to characterize plasma metabolites in the common bottlenose dolphin through use of high-throughput analyses comparing with simultaneously-analyzed data from beagle dogs, a representative model animal for terrestrial carnivores, giving care of exclusion of the influential factors as possible[11]
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