Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are indiscriminate toxicants that threaten nontarget predatory and scavenger species through secondary poisoning. Accumulating evidence suggests that AR exposure may have disruptive sublethal consequences on individuals that can affect fitness. We evaluated AR-related effects on genome-wide expression patterns in a population of bobcats in southern California. We identify differential expression of genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism, endoplasmic reticulum stress response, epithelial integrity and both adaptive and innate immune function. Further, we find that differential expression of immune-related genes may be attributable to AR-related effects on leucocyte differentiation. Collectively, our results provide an unprecedented understanding of the sublethal effects of AR exposure on a wild carnivore. These findings highlight potential detrimental effects of ARs on a wide variety of species worldwide that may consume poisoned rodents and indicate the need to investigate gene expression effects of other toxicants added to natural environments by humans.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	anticoagulant rodenticides, bobcats, gene expression, secondary poisoning, epidemiology
Research Division:	Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences
Research Group:	Veterinary sciences
Research Field:	Veterinary parasitology
Objective Division:	Environmental Management
Objective Group:	Terrestrial systems and management
Objective Field:	Control of pests, diseases and exotic species in terrestrial environments
UTAS Author:	Carver, S (Associate Professor Scott Carver)
ID Code:	149596
Year Published:	2018
Web of Science® Times Cited:	25
Deposited By:	Zoology
Deposited On:	2022-04-05
Last Modified:	2022-05-26
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