Meeting Abstract
The immune response’s first line of defense, the acute phase reaction, contributes to the early control of infections, yet little is known about its adaptations to successfully cope with bacterial infections, particularly in fruit bats. We investigated physiological and behavioral aspects of the acute phase response in the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) by injecting a bacterial Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in comparison with a saline buffer (PBS) control. We tested 11 experimental animals and 10 control in a closed colony, then extended our findings’ validity with 5 free ranging bats housed in our open colony. Bats were monitored via on-board trackers, video, weights, and blood draws. Experimental individuals displayed marked differences in food consumption, body weight, body temperature, movement, probability of exiting to forage, maximum distance traveled, total distance traveled, sociality, and Haptoglobin. These changes bear similarity to other known mammalian acute phase responses, but displayed a far more intensive amplitude. Such severity of response indicates strong reaction to bacterial infection; far different than the antiviral response found in this species and the reaction found in insectivorous bats. Moreover, because Egyptian fruit bats are highly social, their solitude sickness behavior is a clear deviation from the norm.
