Meeting Abstract

P3.195  Tuesday, Jan. 6  Rapid Quantification of the Bactericidal Capacity of Avian Plasma LIEBL, Andrea L.*; ALAM, Jennifer L.; MARTIN, Lynn B.; University of South Florida; University of South Florida; University of South Florida aliebl@mail.usf.edu

Ecological immunology is an emerging field of biology, but progress has been slowed due to the availability of techniques. Bactericidal assays, which measure the capacity of blood and/or plasma samples to kill microorganisms, have been used extensively in the past several years because only a single, small sample of blood and minimal equipment is required to perform the assay. Our goal in the present study was to improve current techniques by reducing the amount of processing time, necessary blood/plasma volume, and the need to culture test samples overnight through the use of spectrophotometry (using a Nanodrop). Preliminary data indicate that the bactericidal capacity of house sparrow (Passer domesticus) plasma against E. coli using our approach is comparable to current methods. Ongoing studies are i) validating this approach for other microorganisms (e.g., gram-positive bacteria and fungi), ii) comparing whole blood versus plasma capacity, iii) assessing repeatability, and iv) ascertaining the effects of long-term storage on sample viability.