Passive maternal exposure to environmental microbes selectively modulates the innate defences of chicken egg white by increasing some of its antibacterial activities.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Egg defence against bacterial contamination relies on immunoglobulins (IgY) concentrated in the yolk and antimicrobial peptides/proteins predominantly localized in the egg white (EW). Hens contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms export specific IgYs to the egg (adaptative immunity). No evidence of such regulation has been reported for the antimicrobial peptides/proteins (innate immunity) which are preventively secreted by the hen oviduct and are active against a large range of microbes. We investigated whether the egg innate defences can be stimulated by the environmental microbial contamination by comparing the antimicrobial activity of EW of hens raised in three extreme breeding conditions: Germ-free (GF), Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) and Conventional (C) hens.

SUBMITTER: Bedrani L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3681677 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature