Identification of lipid metabolites in the plasma of the endangered White-Winged-Wood Duck infected with Mycobacterium Avium

摘要

Although sulfatides are present on the cell surface of Mycobacterium, it has been unknown whether these lipids circulate as metabolites in the plasma of ducks infected with TB or ducks living in a soil-water environment where a biofilm can form due to the presence of the bacterium shed by duck feces. Our data shows that methyl-branched sulfatides are indeed present in the plasma of birds living in a soil-water environment and in TB plasma. Combined, LCMS and IMS gave us a clearer picture of which sulfur-containing lipids were present in our sample. Future experiments will involve making a lipid profile of all sulfatide species in ducks infected and exposed to TB in comparison to non-exposed ducks.