In this current work Rv3879c stimulation of whole blood provided less definitive outcomes, as while Rv3879c triggered minimal IFN-γ responses in blood from M. tuberculosis H37Rv or BTB1558 infected animals, the baseline responses to Rv3879c stimulation in M. bovis AF2122/97 infected cattle were high prior to infection, and showed no increase in response over the course of infection (data not shown). Here, IFNG is linked to infection.