Effect of Temperature on Antibody Synthesis in the Reptile, Dipsosaurus dorsalis.

Abstract

Reptiles (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) were immunized with killed vaccines of Salmonella typhosa to determine whether antibody synthesis occurs in the class Reptilia and to study the effect of temperature on the process. Antibody levels were measured by determining the H-agglutinin titers of sera. After 2 weeks of immunization, H-agglutinin titers of 1:80 to 1:640 were demonstrable in animals maintained at 35[degree] C, but in animals maintained at 25[degree] C the titer did not exceed 1:10 if detectable at all. Placing a 25[degree] C group at 35[degree] C for 1 week caused a relative increase in antibody synthesis.