Impacts of oil exposure on cholesterol synthesis in embryonic red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus)

Past studies in several species of teleost fish have predicted cholesterol biosynthetic pathways are likely impacted by crude oil exposure. The goal of this project is to determine if crude oil exposure impacts gene expression in this pathway and quantify changes in total cholesterol in the exposed red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) larvae. In this experiment we utilize Enzyme Linked Absorbance Assays, Real-time PCR, and Immunohistochemistry techniques. The generated dataset includes: Assay results reported as total cholesterol normalized to total protein for each sample; relative change in gene expression; immunohistochemistry staining measurements along with raw images; Total PAH in water samples analysis. The dataset consists of 2 main folders. The folder named “Reddrum_Cholesterol_Version2_Updated_2021_10_1” is the updated and final version. This dataset supports the publication: McGruer, V., Khursigara, A. J., Magnuson, J. T., Esbaugh, A. J., Greer, J. B., & Schlenk, D. (2021). Exposure to Deepwater Horizon crude oil increases free cholesterol in larval red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus). Aquatic Toxicology, 241, 105988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2021.105988.