Differences in constitutive innate immunity between divergent Australian marsupials.
Dev Comp Immunol
; 132: 104399, 2022 07.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35307478
ABSTRACT
Understanding immunity in wildlife populations is important from both One Health and conservation perspectives. The constitutive innate immune system is the first line of defence against pathogens, and comparisons among taxa can test the impact of evolution and life history on immune function. We investigated serum bacterial killing ability (BKA) of five marsupial species that employ varying life history strategies, demonstrated to influence immunity in other vertebrates. The brushtail possum and eastern grey kangaroo had the greatest BKA, while ringtail possums and koalas had the least. These differences were independent of social structure, captivity status and phylogeny, but were associated with diet and body size. Sex and disease status had no effect on BKA in koalas, however potential for differences between wild and captive koalas warrants further investigation. The current study has provided a foundation for future investigations into how adaptive and innate immunity interact in marsupials from an eco-evolutionary perspective.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Phascolarctidae
/
Marsupiais
Limite:
Animals
País/Região como assunto:
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Dev Comp Immunol
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Austrália