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21 April 2022 INNATE IMMUNE FUNCTION IN LAKE ERIE WATERSNAKES (NERODIA SIPEDON INSULARUM) WITH OPHIDIOMYCOSIS
Ellen Haynes, Mark Merchant, Sarah Baker, Kristin Stanford, Matthew C. Allender
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Ophidiomycosis, caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, poses a threat to the health of wild and managed snakes worldwide. Variation in snake innate immunity, the primary defense against infection in reptiles, may explain the observed variation in ophidiomycosis clinical disease severity among snakes. In this study, two components of the innate immune response were examined in snake plasma. We investigated whether complement activity, as measured by sheep red blood cell hemolysis, and chitotriosidase activity were associated with ophidiomycosis disease severity and time in captivity in Lake Erie watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon insularum). There was no difference in complement-mediated hemolysis or chitotriosidase activities between snakes with varying levels of ophidiomycosis clinical severity sampled in the field. However, among snakes with skin lesions kept in captivity, chitotriosidase activity was significantly higher in snakes with mild disease, compared with snakes with severe disease, and hemolysis activity increased with time in captivity. Overall, Lake Erie watersnakes had higher complement activity, but lower chitotriosidase activity, compared with other reptile species. To our knowledge, this study is the first to describe chitotriosidase activity in a snake species. These results provide mixed evidence of associations between innate immune function and ophidiomycosis severity, and more work is needed to investigate differences among snake species.

© Wildlife Disease Association 2022
Ellen Haynes, Mark Merchant, Sarah Baker, Kristin Stanford, and Matthew C. Allender "INNATE IMMUNE FUNCTION IN LAKE ERIE WATERSNAKES (NERODIA SIPEDON INSULARUM) WITH OPHIDIOMYCOSIS," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 58(2), 279-289, (21 April 2022). https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-21-00100
Received: 11 June 2021; Accepted: 15 October 2021; Published: 21 April 2022
KEYWORDS
chitotriosidase
complement
Innate immune function
Lake Erie watersnakes
Nerodia sipedon insularum
Ophidiomyces ophidiicola
ophidiomycosis
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