Date of Award
Spring 2025
Language
English
Embargo Period
5-20-2025
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
College/School/Department
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Program
Biomedical Sciences
First Advisor
Douglas S. Conklin
Committee Members
Janice Pata, JoEllen Welsh
Subject Categories
Bioinformatics | Biology | Computational Biology | Genetics and Genomics | Genomics | Life Sciences
Abstract
Cancer cells often exhibit a Warburg-like metabolism, which includes increased fatty acid synthesis and storage that help them survive in hypoxic conditions. This shift is marked by the heightened synthesis and accumulation of fatty acids, acting as a survival mechanism in low-oxygen environments (Baumann et al., 2016). Interestingly, deep-diving whales may utilize a similar metabolic pathway to produce wax esters during their prolonged dives.
Our study focused on exploring the genetic and metabolic similarities between breast cancer cells and deep-diving whales, using computational analyses to investigate lipid metabolism genes. We looked for evolutionarily conserved variations that might reveal adaptive mechanisms enabling sperm whales to thrive in hypoxic conditions, potentially through enhanced fatty acid synthesis akin to cancer cell metabolism.
We assessed amino acid sequences from humans and various whale species, paying particular attention to variations in deep-diving compared to shallow-diving whales and other hypoxic species. Our findings identified specific amino acid changes in sperm whales that may suggest unique metabolic adaptations. However, we did not find significant differences in several candidate genes between deep-diving and shallow-diving whales.
Key enzymes like PRKAG3, ME2, and PIPOX, which show a conserved change in all deep-diving whale species, may facilitate their survival in low-oxygen environments, similar to adaptations observed in cancer. These enzymes are crucial not only in lipid synthesis and signaling but are also implicated in various cancers, reinforcing the connection between metabolic reprogramming and cancer progression.
Our analysis included 22 cetacean species, with a focus on seven deep-diving whales. We hypothesized that these adaptations would manifest at both the genomic level and the metabolite profiles. Our computational analyses indeed showed recurrent changes in amino acid composition across all deep-diving whale species, suggesting these variations represent metabolic evolutionary adaptations.
When we contrasted deep-diving whales with their shallow-diving counterparts, we noted differences in the amino acid profiles of enzymes like PRKAG3, ME2, and PIPOX. These distinctions may indicate specific adaptive strategies that enable deep-diving whales to endure extended periods in anoxic or hypoxic conditions, potentially involving metabolic mechanisms similar to those adopted by cancer cells, particularly regarding enhanced fatty acid synthesis and storage.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Masih, SAMERNA A., "Phylogenetic analysis of metabolic enzymes in hypoxic/anoxic conditions in cetaceans and cancer" (2025). Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present). 235.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etd/235
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