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Persistent Identifier
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doi:10.18710/WQYCB8 |
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Publication Date
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2026-07-08 |
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Title
| Characterisation of microRNAs in white-tailed eagle erythrocytes |
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Author
| Brand, Anne-FleurNTNU – Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyORCIDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1779-8691
Løseth, Mari EngvigNorwegian Geotechnical InstituteORCIDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2350-9139
Bustnes, JanNorwegian Institute for Nature ResearchORCIDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2650-7777
Johnsen, Trond VidarNorwegian Institute for Nature Research
Marcinekova, Paulahttps://ror.org/05xg72x27ORCIDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8668-1366
Jaspers, Veerlehttps://ror.org/05xg72x27ORCIDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2385-4493 |
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Point of Contact
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Use email button above to contact.
Jaspers, Veerle (NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology) |
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Description
| This dataset contains supplementary files associated with small RNA sequencing of erythrocytes obtained from two white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) nestlings sampled in Steigen, Norway (67.93°N, 14.98°E) in 2016.
The sequencing was performed to quantify known avian microRNAs in erythrocytes using reference-based annotation. The aim was to improve understanding of how hemolysis (rupture of erythrocytes) can influence circulating microRNA measurements in plasma and serum samples through the release of erythrocyte-derived microRNAs into circulation, an important consideration for biomarker studies in wild birds.
This dataset includes documentation of laboratory procedures (provided in the README file) and data analysis, together with processed outputs derived from raw sequencing reads. The raw sequencing data are publicly available from the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) under accession PRJEB73558, with sample identifiers ERS18389117 and ERS18389118.
Specifically, the dataset contains:
- Analysis script used for small RNA sequencing data processing.
- miRTrace quality control reports for assessment of read quality and taxonomic composition.
- miRDeep2 quantification results, including read counts for reference-annotated avian microRNAs in erythrocyte samples.
Importantly, erythrocyte sequencing revealed substantial cross-species contamination, highlighting an important source of bias in small RNA sequencing studies, particularly when analysing highly conserved microRNAs. Using miRTrace (Kang et al., 2018), only 20.0% and 58.1% of all classified microRNA reads in the two white-tailed eagle samples were assigned to birds, with the remaining reads originating from a range of non-avian taxa, including dicots, rodents, and primates. Such contamination can complicate the interpretation of microRNA datasets because many mature microRNAs are highly conserved across vertebrates.
The contamination patterns observed in the present study are consistent with several potential sources of exogenous RNA, including contamination introduced during sample collection and laboratory processing (i.e., from RNA extraction and library preparation kits), as well as sequencing-related artefacts such as index mis-assignment (Kang et al., 2018). These findings emphasise the importance of rigorous quality-control procedures and contamination screening in microRNA sequencing studies, particularly when working with low-input or field-collected samples. |
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Subject
| Medicine, Health and Life Sciences |
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Keyword
| microRNA
circulating microRNA
small RNA sequencing
erythrocytes
red blood cells
hemolysis
white-tailed eagles
Haliaeetus albicilla |
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Language
| English |
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Producer
| NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) https://www.ntnu.edu/ |
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Funding Information
| Norwegian Research Council: 230465
Norwegian Research Council: 302205 |
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Distributor
| NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) https://dataverse.no/dataverse/ntnu |
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Depositor
| Brand, Anne-Fleur |
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Deposit Date
| 2026-03-13 |
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Software
| miRTrace
miRDeep2 |
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Related Material
| Løseth, M.E., Briels, N., Flo, J., Malarvannan, G., Poma, G., Covaci, A., Herzke, D., Nygård, T., Bustnes, J.O., Jenssen, B.M. and Jaspers, V.L., 2019. White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) feathers from Norway are suitable for monitoring of legacy, but not emerging contaminants. Science of the Total Environment, 647, pp.525-533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.333 Løseth, M.E., Briels, N., Eulaers, I., Nygård, T., Malarvannan, G., Poma, G., Covaci, A., Herzke, D., Bustnes, J.O., Lepoint, G. and Jenssen, B.M., 2019. Plasma concentrations of organohalogenated contaminants in white-tailed eagle nestlings–The role of age and diet. Environmental Pollution, 246, pp.527-534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.12.028 Løseth, M.E., Flo, J., Sonne, C., Krogh, A.K.H., Nygård, T., Bustnes, J.O., Jenssen, B.M. and Jaspers, V.L., 2019. The influence of natural variation and organohalogenated contaminants on physiological parameters in white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) nestlings from Norway. Environmental research, 177, p.108586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2019.108586 |
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Related Dataset
| Raw sequencing reads are not included in this dataset but are publicly available from the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) under accession PRJEB73558, with sample identifiers ERS18389117 and ERS18389118. |
