The chronicles of the contaminated Mediterranean seas: a story told by the cetaceans' skin genes

RNA samples from the skin of 12 individuals including the species Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus, and Grampus griseus were used to test 4 potential gene markers of anthropogenic contaminants exposure. The individuals were sampled in 3 geographic areas: the Adriatic, Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. Three out of the 4 genes tested showed higher expression in the samples collected from the Adriatic Sea. Minute skin samples tell the story of the specific geographic location where the marine mammal spent its life, thanks to the different impact on gene expression exerted by different contamination levels.