Hyena biography samples

Abstract

Animals that hunt and scavenge are often exposed to a broad array of pathogens. Theory predicts the immune systems of animals specialized for scavenging should have been molded by selective pressures associated with surviving microbial assaults from their food. Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are capable hunters that have recently descended from carrion feeding ancestors. Hyenas have been documented to survive anthrax and rabies infections, and outbreaks of several other viral diseases that decimated populations of sympatric carnivores. In light of the extreme disease resistance manifested by spotted hyenas, our objective was to identify tools available for studying immune function in spotted hyenas and use these tools to document the hyena antibody response to immunization. Domestic cats (Felis catus) are the closest phylogenetic relatives of hyenas that have been studied in detail immunologically, and we hypothesized that anti-cat isotype-specific antibodies would cross react with hyena immunoglobulin epitopes. We used ELISA and Western blots to test isotype-specific anti-feline antibodies for specific cross-reaction to hyena Ig epitopes. Molecular weights of heavy (IgA, IgG, IgM) and light chains of hyena immunoglobulins were determined by protein electrophor