North Atlantic Right Whale Tissue and DNA Bank and Database
Samples
We currently house 1,493 samples, representing 694 different individuals
To download a list of sampled whales, click here
Number of samples collected by year. Click on thumbnail to view larger image. Click here for the underlying data.
Since 2020, 10 different organizations or research groups have contributed samples
Number of samples collected by different organizations/groups since 2020. Click on thumbnail to view larger image.
Sexes
We have used molecular methods to determine the sex of 659 individuals, 358 males, 301 females
A list of the molecularly-determined sex for each whale can be downloaded here
Number of whales sexed as female or male using molecular methods. Click on thumbnail to view larger image.
Mitochondrial Haplotypes
We have sequenced a portion of the mitochondrial control region for 658* individuals, resulting in the identification of 7 haplotypes
A list of the genetically-determined mitochondrial haplotype for each whale can be downloaded here (does not include haplotypes inferred from maternal relationships)
Percentage of individuals with each haplotype. Click on thumbnail to view larger image.
| Haplotype | Female | Male | TOTAL |
| A | 93 | 109 | 202 |
| B | 30 | 37 | 67 |
| C | 33 | 49 | 82 |
| D | 134 | 147 | 281 |
| E | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| G | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| H | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| TOTAL | 295 | 355 | 650* |
Distribution of mitochondrial haplotypes among the sexes. *Note that we have haplotypes for 8 individuals of unknown sex: A - 1, B - 2, C - 1, D - 2, H - 2.
| Haplotype | Accession # | Reference |
| A | AF395039 | Malik et al., (2000) |
| B | AF395040 | Malik et al., (2000) |
| C | AF395041 | Malik et al., (2000) |
| D | AF395042 | Malik et al., (2000) |
| E | AF395043 | Malik et al., (2000) |
| F | AY821863 | Rastogi et al., (2004) |
| G | GQ927329 | McLeod & White, (2010) |
| H | N/A, heteroplasmic G/A | McLeod & White, (2010) |
Paternity
Disclaimer: Note that paternity is assigned probabilistically, and we cannot be 100% sure of any of them. However, we use very stringent criteria for assignment, and therefore most should be correct, but a few may change from one year to another.
We have conducted paternity assignment analyses for years 1980-2020. A file with year, mother, calf, and assigned father can be downloaded here. This has resulted in the assignment of fathers for 243 calves. These 243 paternities are distributed across 112 different males. A file of the number of paternities assigned to each male can be downloaded from here.
Number of males assigned to each of 1-9 paternities. Click on thumbnail to view larger image.
|
Whale (NEA Catalogue No.) |
Name |
Paternities Assigned |
| 1156 | MISSTIP | 9 |
| 1307 | 6 | |
| 1033 | 5 | |
| 1037 | 5 | |
| 1042 | 5 | |
| 1144 | DINGLE | 5 |
| 1155 | CRABSCAR | 5 |
| 1170 | LEGS | 5 |
Whole Genomes
We have sequenced the full genomes for 12 North Atlantic right whales and 10 right whales from the South Atlantic (Argentina and South Georgia). These genomes are available on NCBI as BioProject PRJNA914998. The citations for these genomes is Crossman et al. (2023).
|
Whale (NEA Catalogue No.) |
Sex | Accession # |
| 1027 |
F | SRR22863740 |
| 1037 | M | SRR22863752 |
| 1131 | M | SRR22863753 |
| 1204 |
F | SRR22863735 |
| 1209 | F | SRR22863754 |
| 1240 | F | SRR22863737 |
| 1315 | F | SRR22863736 |
| 1334 | F | SRR22863734 |
| 1706 | F | SRR22863755 |
| 1934 | F | SRR22863738 |
| 1968 | F | SRR22863743 |
| 2040 | F | SRR22863739 |
| SARW-Argentina | M | SRR22863751 |
| SARW-Argentina |
F | SRR22863750 |
| SARW-Argentina |
M | SRR22863749 |
| SARW-Argentina |
F | SRR22863748 |
| SARW-Argentina |
M | SRR22863747 |
| SARW-Argentina |
F | SRR22863746 |
| SARW-Argentina |
M | SRR22863745 |
| SARW-Argentina |
F | SRR22863744 |
| SARW-Argentina |
F | SRR22863742 |
| SARW-South Georgia |
M | SRR22863741 |
ddRADSeq
We have conducted ddRADSeq analyses on 113 North Atlantic right whales. These represent sequence data for ~26,000 SNPs throughout the genome. These data are available on NCBI as BioProject PRJNA1027072. The citation for these genomes is Crossman et al. (2024). You can click here to download a list of individuals for which these ddRADSeq data are available, as well as the specific Accession numbers for each of their sequences.