Complex immune responses and molecular reactions to pathogens and disease in a desert reptile (Gopherus agassizii).

ABSTRACT: Immune function plays an important role in an animal's defense against infectious disease. In reptiles, immune responses may be complex and counterintuitive, and diagnostic tools used to identify infection, such as induced antibody responses are limited. Recent studies using gene transcription profiling in tortoises have proven useful in identifying immune responses to various intrinsic and extrinsic stressors. As part of a larger experiment with Mojave desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii), we facilitated the transmission of the pathogenic bacteria, Mycoplasma agassizii (Myag), to naïve adults and measured innate and induced immune reactions over time. Specifically, we evaluated clinical condition, presence of Myag in the nasal/oral cavity, induced antibody responses specific to Myag, and

SUBMITTER: Drake KK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6405529 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature