Meeting Abstract
Wild ungulate species can carry and transmit various pathogens to both domestic animals and humans. It is therefore important to understand the immune response in this group of animals to better predict and manage diseases of medical and agricultural importance. We assessed the innate antibacterial immune responses of seven different ungulate species maintained in a zoological park. Numbers and types of leukocytes, the antibacterial properties of animals plasma, and the mRNA levels of Toll-like receptors (TLR) 2 and 5 were determined in aoudad (Ammotragus lervia), American bison (Bison bison bison), Roosevelt elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti), fallow deer (Dama dama), sika deer (Cervus nippon), yak (Bos grunniens), and Damara Zebra (Equus burchellii antiquorum). General linear model analysis was used to examine relationships between the immune measurements. Levels of TLR2 and TLR5 mRNA in isolated leukocytes were positively correlated at the individual and species level. Additionally, TLR5 expression was related to neutrophil abundance which in turn is correlated with the ability of plasma to kill a laboratory strain of Escherichia coli. We also tested if innate immune responses were correlated to pace of life characteristics such as adult body weight, gestation length, or time to sexual maturity. The only relationship detected was a negative correlation between adult body weight and the ratio of neutrophils to lymphocytes. No other pattern emerged to suggest that species with fast pace of life relied more on innate immune responses than ungulates with a slower pace of life.
