How are genetic factors influencing cancer susceptibility and mortality patterns in the St. Lawrence beluga?

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to understand how genetic factors may be influencing cancer susceptibility and mortality patterns in the St. Lawrence beluga. To assess if variation along candidate genes are influencing cancer susceptibility, I designed primers for the amplification of the p53 gene, and microsatellite regions along seven additional genes: p16, Rb1, BRCA1, BRCA2, PTEN, HPSE2, and FOXO3. Comparing cancer individuals to a control group showed no strong differences with respect to variation along the p53 gene (sequencing analysis) or other candidate loci (microsatellite association analysis), though some patterns warrant further investigation. The degree of inbreeding also showed no relationship with cancer susceptibility. However, bacteria and parasite-induced mortalities were associated with relatively high and low levels of inbreeding, respectively, highlighting the different ways in which inbreeding may be influencing mortality patterns in this population.