Peptide mass fingerprint of feather to identify the origin of migratory pathogen carrier wild birds

The use of mass spectrometry to analyze the stable-isotope ratios of bird tissues has become an important new tool for research at the last 20 years. Also, there is growing interest in the use of stable isotope ratios to elucidate migration pathways. The mass spectrometry will be used to measure the peptide mass fingerprint , to identify the origin of the pathogen carrier wild birds like waterfowl feather keratin in unknown samples. Stable isotopes in bird tissues reflect those values in food webs and thus provide insights into feeding location and diet. Also, the turnover of some bird tissues is more than the others, because of this keratin in bird feathers will be selected and analyzed. Because of Keratin in waste feathers is resistant to biodegradation, unless keratinolytic fungi (or bacteria) are present. On the other hands, according previous scientific reports, there is no successful study regarding migration routes of infected wild birds in Iran. This technique may be best for identifying the origin of the pathogenic carrier to control of the disease spread such as avian influenza in wild birds.