https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:4613 Development of an 11-oxoetiocholanolone mini-kit for the quantification of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in various wildlife species Edwards, Katie L. Katie L. Edwards Wheaton, Catharine J. Catharine J. Wheaton Brown, Janine L. Janine L. Brown Dimovski, Alicia M. Alicia M. Dimovski Fanson, Kerry Kerry Fanson Ganswindt, Andre Andre Ganswindt Ganswindt, Stefanie B. Stefanie B. Ganswindt Hagenah, Nicole Nicole Hagenah Keeley, Tamara Tamara Keeley Möstl, Erich Erich Möstl University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna O'Hara, Bobbi Bobbi O'Hara Penfold, Linda M. Linda M. Penfold Shablin, Samantha A. Samantha A. Shablin Palme, Rupert Rupert Palme 0000-0001-9466-3662 University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Oxford University Press journal article open access eng As part of its mission to advance the field of wildlife endocrinology, the International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology aims to develop cost-effective antibodies and enzyme immunoassay kits that support research across a diverse range of species and sample matrices. To provide additional options for the quantification of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCMs), an antibody against 11-oxoetiocholanolone-17-carboxymethyl oxime (CMO) was generated in rabbits, and an enzyme immunoassay incorporating a horseradish peroxidase-conjugated label and 11-oxoetiocholanolone standard has been developed, designed for use with anti-rabbit IgG secondary antibody coated plates. This mini-kit was used to quantify glucocorticoid metabolites with a 5β-3α-ol-11-one structure in faecal extracts from 23 species: African and Asian elephants, Alpine chamois, American bison, Bengal tiger, blue wildebeest, blue-and-yellow macaw, brushtail possum, cape buffalo, fat-tailed dunnart, Florida manatee, ghost bat, giraffe, golden langur, Gould’s wattled bat, hippopotamus, Leadbeater’s possum, mandrill, okapi, roan antelope, samango monkey, short-beaked echidna, and western lowland gorilla. Pharmacological (adrenocorticotropic hormone challenge) and biological (inter-zoo translocation, wild capture, social disruption, illness/injury and veterinary intervention) challenges resulted in expected increases in fGCM concentrations, and in a subset of species, closely paralleled results from a previously established immunoassay against 11-oxoetiocholanolone-17-CMO. Two additional species tested, Krefft’s glider, which showed contradictory results on this assay compared to a previously validated enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and Ankole cow, where the magnitude increase post-event did not quite reach the 2-fold change criteria, highlight that differences in excreted faecal metabolites across species mean that no EIA will be suitable for all species. This assay provides a valuable new option for assessing adrenal activity across taxa using a group-specific antibody. Future studies should put similar emphasis on validation to determine optimal assay choice for measuring fGCMs in a variety of species. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/api/object/o:4613/download 10.1093/conphys/coaf074 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:605 application/pdf Conservation Physiology issn:2051-1434 VoR Conservation Physiology 13 1 1.12 MB 2025