SinS - Abstract

Abstract Information :

Eastern Black Rhinos (Diceros bicornis) are a critically endangered species with less than 650 believed to be left in the wild. Research at Chester Zoo has looked to improve the population by introducing a breeding programme which monitors hormone levels in breeding females to increase the chance of successfully having offspring. This approach has been incredibly successful, and has resulted in the birth of 10 captive rhinos at Chester Zoo over the last decade. Following on from the success of this research, the team are now working to identify stress biomarkers using LC-MS, that may be further impacting on the breeding programme. The faecal material is initially mixed with an extraction solvent to remove solid material and other matrix components. Various extraction solvents are tested to determine the best response from a metabolite profiling perspective, with the samples being analysed on an API 6500+ QTrap. The subsequent MS data is then statistically analysed using principal component analysis, which allows identification of differing groups of subjects. Initially this was kept relatively trivial and was able to distinguish between male and female, however subsequent experimental data looked at analysing between different categories of stressed subjects. The application of a metabolomic approach to the determination of stressed and unstressed subjects has never been performed within this discipline, primarily due to the complexity and nature of the samples. The poster will also provide a background on how the metabolomic approach can be applied to the analysis of stress biomarkers within an endangered species.