GRINDSTAFF, J.L.; KETTERSON, E.D.: Effects of the maternal environment on antibody transmission to eggs and the consequences for offspring growth and immunity

Neonatal vertebrates have little capacity to synthesize antibodies and are, therefore, dependent on the transmission of passive immunity from the female parent for early disease resistance. In birds, immunity is transferred to offspring as immunoglobulins that are deposited in the yolk by the female during yolk formation. At the population level, variation among females in the amount of maternal antibodies transferred to eggs is translated into variation among young in ability to resist disease. Therefore, environmental factors that mediate variation among females in maternal antibody transfer may have cross-generational influences on offspring immunocompetence. I have previously shown that extreme manipulation in maternal dietary protein intake does not influence adult humoral immunity to a novel antigen or maternal antibody transmission to eggs in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). To explore the effects of underlying endogenous variation in maternal antibody transmission on offspring, I am developing an ELISA assay to assess passive immunity more quantitatively in relation to offspring growth rates and immunocompetence. Variation in antibody transmission among mothers may profoundly influence offspring fitness because maternal antibodies provide the only form of humoral immune defense for offspring, irreversibly mold the immune network of offspring, and influence offspring growth and developmental rates.