Jeffries Ken M, Teffer Amy, Michaleski Sonya, Bernier Nicholas J, Heath Daniel D, Miller Kristina M
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, 50 Sifton Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada.
Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, United States of America.
Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol. 2021 Oct-Dec;256:110629. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2021.110629. Epub 2021 May 28.
Fishes respond to different abiotic and biotic stressors through changes in gene expression as a part of an integrated physiological response. Transcriptomics approaches have been used to quantify gene expression patterns as a reductionist approach to understand responses to environmental stressors in animal physiology and have become more commonly used to study wild fishes. We argue that non-lethal sampling for transcriptomics should become the norm for assessing the physiological status of wild fishes, especially when there are conservation implications. Processes at the level of the transcriptome provide a "snapshot" of the cellular conditions at a given time; however, by using a non-lethal sampling protocol, researchers can connect the transcriptome profile with fitness-relevant ecological endpoints such as reproduction, movement patterns and survival. Furthermore, telemetry is a widely used approach in fisheries to understand movement patterns in the wild, and when combined with transcriptional profiling, provides arguably the most powerful use of non-lethal sampling for transcriptomics in wild fishes. In this review, we discuss the different tissues that can be successfully incorporated into non-lethal sampling strategies, which is particularly useful in the context of the emerging field of conservation transcriptomics. We briefly describe different methods for transcriptional profiling in fishes from high-throughput qPCR to whole transcriptome approaches. Further, we discuss strategies and the limitations of using transcriptomics for non-lethally studying fishes. Lastly, as 'omics' technology continues to advance, transcriptomics paired with different omics approaches to study wild fishes will provide insight into the factors that regulate phenotypic variation and the physiological responses to changing environmental conditions in the future.
作为综合生理反应的一部分，鱼类通过基因表达的变化对不同的非生物和生物应激源做出反应。转录组学方法已被用于量化基因表达模式，作为一种简化论方法来理解动物生理学中对环境应激源的反应，并且越来越普遍地用于研究野生鱼类。我们认为，用于转录组学的非致死性采样应该成为评估野生鱼类生理状态的标准做法，尤其是在涉及保护问题时。转录组水平的过程提供了给定时间细胞状况的“快照”；然而，通过使用非致死性采样方案，研究人员可以将转录组概况与繁殖、运动模式和生存等与适应性相关的生态终点联系起来。此外，遥测是渔业中广泛使用的一种了解野生鱼类运动模式的方法，当与转录谱分析相结合时，可以说是在野生鱼类转录组学中最有效地利用非致死性采样。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了可以成功纳入非致死性采样策略的不同组织，这在新兴的保护转录组学领域中特别有用。我们简要描述了从高通量定量聚合酶链反应到全转录组方法的鱼类转录谱分析的不同方法。此外，我们讨论了使用转录组学对鱼类进行非致死性研究的策略和局限性。最后，随着“组学”技术的不断进步，转录组学与不同的组学方法相结合来研究野生鱼类，将为调节表型变异的因素以及未来对不断变化的环境条件的生理反应提供见解。
