Impact of nest sanitation on the immune system of parents and nestlings in a passerine bird Evans, Jessica K., Griffith, Simon C., Klasing, Kirk C. and Buchanan, Katherine L. 2016, Impact of nest sanitation on the immune system of parents and nestlings in a passerine bird, Journal of experimental biology, vol. 219, pp. 1985-1993, doi: 10.1242/jeb.130948. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Impact of nest sanitation on the immune system of parents and nestlings in a passerine bird Author(s) Evans, Jessica K. Griffith, Simon C. Klasing, Kirk C. Buchanan, Katherine L. orcid.org/0000-0002-6648-5819 Journal name Journal of experimental biology Volume number 219 Start page 1985 End page 1993 Total pages 9 Publisher The Company of Biologists Place of publication Cambridge, Eng. Publication date 2016 ISSN 1477-9145 Keyword(s) humoral cell-mediated microorganism sheep red blood cell avian immunity microbiome Humoral Summary Bacterial 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. Language eng DOI 10.1242/jeb.130948 Field of Research 060603 Animal Physiology - Systems Socio Economic Objective 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal ERA Research output type C Journal article Copyright notice ©2016, The Company of Biologists Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30083301 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment School of Life and Environmental Sciences Centre for Integrative Ecology Related Links Link Description Connect to Elements publication management system Go to link with your DU access privileges   Connect to published version Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Versions Version Filter Type Fri, 06 May 2016, 13:41:35 EST Mon, 10 Oct 2016, 11:56:48 EST Tue, 11 Oct 2016, 04:00:38 EST Tue, 11 Oct 2016, 05:10:26 EST Fri, 21 Oct 2016, 09:41:16 EST Fri, 21 Oct 2016, 09:57:42 EST Fri, 21 Oct 2016, 09:58:53 EST Fri, 21 Oct 2016, 10:00:10 EST Mon, 11 Nov 2019, 01:41:55 EST Mon, 21 Mar 2022, 13:36:37 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 5 times in TR Web of Science Cited 5 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 558 Abstract Views, 4 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Mon, 10 Oct 2016, 11:56:48 EST