Meeting Abstract

P2.29  Wednesday, Jan. 5  Investigating influenza and malaria host range by surveying avian sialic acid JANKOWSKI, Mark*; KIMBALL, David; MCCABE, Kirsten; FAIR, Jeanne; Los Alamos National Laboratory; Los Alamos National Laboratory; Los Alamos National Laboratory; Los Alamos National Laboratory mdjankowski@lanl.gov

Sialic acid (Sia) is a common cell surface monosaccharide that is intricately involved in the recognition of microbes and in the regulation of immunity in vertebrates. This sugar shows extensive variation in its structure and its linkage with underlying glycoconjugates both within and across species. Characterizing this variation will help to understand differences in susceptibility to pathogens because Sia plays a large role in the host’s recognition of influenza type A (IAV) and malaria. Birds are greatly affected by both of these agents; therefore, we have investigated variations in Sia across the Class Aves. We are determining the Sia-galactose glycosidic linkage type (α2-3 or α2-6) as well as the total quantity of Sia in red blood cells (RBCs), as these parameters and cells are important in malaria infection and perhaps in the in vivo transport of influenza viruses. For example, linkage type is thought to constrain IAV host range such that α2-6 linkages tend to bind human IAVs more strongly than avian IAVs and vice versa for α2-3 linkages. To date, we have found that pigeon RBCs express higher levels of α2-6 than chicken and mallard duck RBCs, which both express slightly more α2-3 than α2-6. We have additionally found that adult American kestrels express more Sia than their hatch year conspecifics. Such baseline physiological information can enhance our knowledge of the ecology of IAV, malaria, and perhaps other microbes.