Are maternal antibodies really that important? Patterns in the immunologic development of altricial passerine house sparrows (Passer domesticus).

Maternal antibodies are believed to play an integral role in protecting immunologically immature wild-passerines from environmental antigens. This study comprehensively examines the early development of the adaptive immune system in an altricial-developing wild passerine species, the house sparrow (...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marisa O King, Jeb P Owen, Hubert G Schwabl
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2010-03-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2836371?pdf=render