IMMUNE RESPONSE AND THE B BLOOD GROUP LOCUS IN CHICKENS

Igal Pevzner ¹, Arne W. Nordskog ¹, and Merlin L. Kaeberle ¹

¹ Departments of Animal Science and Veterinary Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50010

Chickens of three blood group genotypes, B¹B ¹, B¹B² and B¹B¹⁹, were compared in their ability to produce antibodies. The B locus is the major histocompatibility locus in this species. Homozygous B ¹ pullets had significantly higher adult mortality than did the B¹ heterozygotes. In two separate experiments the B ¹B¹ females produced significantly fewer antibodies to Salmonella pullorum than did the B¹ heterozygotes. Also the B¹B¹ pullets responded with lower antibody titers following immunization with ferritin, bovine serum albumin and parainfluenza-3 virus, although the differences were not significant. The results of this study suggest that an immune response gene is associated with the major histocompatibility locus in chickens, paralleling the H-2 locus and Ir genes in mice.

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