Hypoxia occurs when tissues are deprived of an adequate oxygen supply and is a critically important concern in human clinical settings, including heart attack, stroke, surgery and cancer. In the animal kingdom, deep-diving whales appear to have adapted an exquisite tolerance for hypoxia, demonstrated by their ability to dive at depth, often for hours, while foraging. Marine mammals may hold the answer to developing new ways to protect hypoxia-sensitive species and create new clinical interventions for hypoxia as it relates to human health.

This team used genetics to identify cellular adaptations of deep-diving marine mammals and uncover candidate genes that help them cope with low oxygen conditions (i.e. hypoxia). They found heightened mitochondria levels in deep-diving marine mammals and identified differentiation in genes associated with tumor regulation, inflammation and immune response between deep and shallow-diving marine mammals.

Learn more about this project team by viewing the team's video.

Timing

Summer 2021 – Spring 2022

Team Outputs

Health and Hypoxia: A Deep Dive into Marine Mammal Genetics (2022 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase)

Learning from Whales: A Deep Dive in Marine Mammal Genetics (poster by Claire Huang, Katherine Krieger, Natalie Kubicki, Eva Ma, Magdalena Phillips, Sam Schulteis, Yumi Tsuyuki, Giselle Wang, Annie Zhang, Ashley Blawas, Nicola Quick, Tom Schultz, Jason Somarelli and Jillian Wisse, presented at Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase, Duke University, April 13, 2022)

Team Website

This Team in the News

Somarelli Joins Leadership of New AACR Cancer Evolution Working Group

See related teams, Learning from Whales: Oxygen, Ecosystems and Human Health (2022-2023) and Learning from Whales: Oxygen, Ecosystems and Human Health (2020-2021).

Image: Whale, by Cyrille Humbert, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0