Meeting Abstract
Neonates lack adaptive immunity and are vulnerable to pathogens. In fact, adults carrying pathogens may transmit infections to their neonate offspring. In response to pathogens, mothers transfer passive immunity to offspring by transmitting antibodies via milk or yolk. Mothers previously or currently infected with a pathogen can transfer pathogen-specific antibodies to newborns, granting them immunological protection until they can synthesize their own. In birds, antibodies are deposited before eggshell formation within the mother’s oviduct. It was recently discovered that wild eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) are common hosts of the avian pathogen Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG). Adult bluebirds exposed to MG in the wild mount an adaptive immune response in the form of circulating antibodies. Serum samples collected in the breeding season of 2018 and 2019 showed that adult female bluebirds transmit MG-antibodies to their offspring, and these antibodies persist in young approximately 5 days post-hatch. PCR analysis of choanal cleft (throat) swabs from entire bluebird families indicate that both male and female adults may transmit MG infection horizontally, most likely through feeding behaviors. We will discuss the impact of vertical transmission of this pathogen and protective antibodies on the fitness of wild eastern bluebird nestlings.
