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Impact of nest sanitation on the immune system of parents and nestlings in a passerine bird
journal contribution
posted on 2016-07-01, 00:00 authored by Jessica Evans, S C Griffith, K K C Klasing, Kate BuchananKate BuchananBacterial communities are thought to have fundamental effects on the growth and development of nestling birds. The antigen exposure hypothesis suggests that, for both nestlings and adult birds, exposure to a diverse range of bacteria would select for stronger immune defences. However, there are relatively few studies that have tested the immune/bacterial relationships outside of domestic poultry. We therefore sought to examine indices of immunity (microbial killing ability in naïve birds, which is a measure of innate immunity and the antibody response to sheep red blood cells, which measures adaptive immunity) in both adult and nestling zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). We did this throughout breeding and between reproductive attempts in nests that were experimentally manipulated to change the intensity of bacterial exposure. Our results suggest that nest sanitation and bacterial load affected measures of the adaptive immune system, but not the innate immune parameters tested. Adult finches breeding in clean nests had a lower primary antibody response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC), particularly males, and a greater difference between primary and secondary responses. Adult microbial killing of E.coli decreased as parents moved from incubation to nestling rearing for both nest treatments; however, killing of C.albicans remained consistent throughout. In nestlings, both innate microbial killing and the adaptive antibody response did not differ between nest environments. Together, these results suggest that the exposure to microorganisms in the environment affect the adaptive immune system in nesting birds, with exposure upregulating the antibody response in adult birds.
History
Journal
Journal of Experimental BiologyVolume
219Issue
13Pagination
1985 - 1993Publisher
COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTDLocation
EnglandPublisher DOI
ISSN
0022-0949eISSN
1477-9145Language
EnglishPublication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2016, The Company of BiologistsUsage metrics
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