Species and population specific gene expression in blood transcriptomes of marine turtles
Shreya M. Banerjee,
Jamie Adkins Stoll,
Camryn D. Allen,
Jennifer M. Lynch,
Heather S. Harris,
Lauren Kenyon,
Richard E. Connon,
Eleanor J. Sterling,
Eugenia Naro-Maciel,
Kathryn McFadden,
Margaret M. Lamont,
James Benge,
Nadia B. Fernandez,
Jeffrey A. Seminoff,
Scott R. Benson,
Rebecca L. Lewison,
Tomoharu Eguchi,
Tammy M. Summers,
Jessy R. Hapdei,
Marc R. Rice,
Summer Martin,
T. Todd Jones,
Peter H. Dutton,
George H. Balazs,
Lisa M. Komoroske
Affiliations
Shreya M. Banerjee
Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts
Jamie Adkins Stoll
Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts
Camryn D. Allen
Marine Turtle Biology and Assessment Program, Protected Species Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Jennifer M. Lynch
Chemical Sciences Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Hawai’i Pacific University
Heather S. Harris
Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Lauren Kenyon
Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts
Richard E. Connon
Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, University of California, Davis
Eleanor J. Sterling
Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History
Eugenia Naro-Maciel
New York University
Kathryn McFadden
School of Agricultural, Forest, and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University
Margaret M. Lamont
United States Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
James Benge
Section of Molecular Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego
Nadia B. Fernandez
Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts
Jeffrey A. Seminoff
Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Scott R. Benson
Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Rebecca L. Lewison
Department of Biology, San Diego State University
Tomoharu Eguchi
Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Tammy M. Summers
Rainbow Connection Research
Jessy R. Hapdei
Jessy’s Tag Services
Marc R. Rice
Hawai’i Preparatory Academy
Summer Martin
Marine Turtle Biology and Assessment Program, Protected Species Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
T. Todd Jones
Marine Turtle Biology and Assessment Program, Protected Species Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Peter H. Dutton
Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
George H. Balazs
Golden Honu Services of Oceania
Lisa M. Komoroske
Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts
Abstract Background Transcriptomic data has demonstrated utility to advance the study of physiological diversity and organisms’ responses to environmental stressors. However, a lack of genomic resources and challenges associated with collecting high-quality RNA can limit its application for many wild populations. Minimally invasive blood sampling combined with de novo transcriptomic approaches has great potential to alleviate these barriers. Here, we advance these goals for marine turtles by generating high quality de novo blood transcriptome assemblies to characterize functional diversity and compare global transcriptional profiles between tissues, species, and foraging aggregations. Results We generated high quality blood transcriptome assemblies for hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) turtles. The functional diversity in assembled blood transcriptomes was comparable to those from more traditionally sampled tissues. A total of 31.3% of orthogroups identified were present in all four species, representing a core set of conserved genes expressed in blood and shared across marine turtle species. We observed strong species-specific expression of these genes, as well as distinct transcriptomic profiles between green turtle foraging aggregations that inhabit areas of greater or lesser anthropogenic disturbance. Conclusions Obtaining global gene expression data through non-lethal, minimally invasive sampling can greatly expand the applications of RNA-sequencing in protected long-lived species such as marine turtles. The distinct differences in gene expression signatures between species and foraging aggregations provide insight into the functional genomics underlying the diversity in this ancient vertebrate lineage. The transcriptomic resources generated here can be used in further studies examining the evolutionary ecology and anthropogenic impacts on marine turtles.
