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Effects of peripheral inflammation on gene expression modulation in passerines and parrots
Kuttiyarthu Veetil, Nithya ; Vinkler, Michal (advisor) ; Hyršl, Pavel (referee) ; Harazim, Markéta (referee)
(English) Birds have well-defined roles in maintaining the ecological balance as predators, seed dispersers, nutrient cyclers, and pollinators making them an integral part of many ecosystems. Birds are often the flag-ship species and are important for wildlife preservation. Some of the avian populations are very well connected across the globe through their annual migration, increasing risks of epidemics of infections. Birds also face different levels of existence encounters in challenging living conditions like deserts and cold mountains. To cope with these diverse environments not only need physiological adaptations, but also a very well-equipped immune system, optimised to challenges common to the environment they inhabit. How well a host immune system responds to pathogens determines the overall fitness of the organism and its survival. Insight into the avian immune system functions is of great significance as birds are reservoirs of innumerable pathogens. They have been the primary source of several major epidemics' onset leading to worldwide human and animal fatalities (e.g., COVID-19, Avian influenza, or West Nile virus outbreaks). Similar to all living beings, avian hosts and pathogens are always in a continuous adaptational arms race. This coevolution of hosts and their pathogens forms the...
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