Review of the Recent Knowledge on the Crocodilian Immune System

SIROSKI PABLO ARIEL; MOLEÓN, MA. SOLEDAD

South American Journal of Herpetology

Sociedade Brasileira de Herpetologia

Lugar: São Paulo; Año: 2020

1808-9798

Despite the key position of reptiles in evolutionary history, reptilian immune responses have received relatively little attention. Like all jawed vertebrates, reptiles possess both an innate and adaptive immune system to recognize unknown foreign substances. In spite of the diversity of immunological mechanisms discovered, they seems to not be adequate enough to avoid the invasion of some microorganisms and to stop some infections. All members of the Crocodylidae family show well-defined social behaviors, and hierarchical dominance attitudes can be observed in both males and females. This behavior generates certain conflicts that are expressed through aggressions and fights with serious and compromised health results. These animals have developed a very active immune system that provides a fast and effective line of defense. Science has focused on those mechanisms and components because crocodilians are an especially interesting group on which to perform evolutionary studies because they are the only surviving Archosaurus reptiles, which represents an important link within ?higher? vertebrates. Based of those data, they are being observed and evaluated on their potential application in domestic and wild species. These findings will not only generate an increasing value as a therapeutic resource but also to the ecosystem, and to decode biological process that could lead to phylogenetic (ancestral) cognition. In this review, many components of crocodilian immune system are described and could serve as the beginning of a learning curve to understand how this order selects the most appropriate response to an environmental challenge, the best response to an antigen exposure, and open a world of networks to study and interesting opportunities to the experts in the field.