Sex differences in immunity and rapid upregulation of immune defence during parental care in the burying beetle, <i>Nicrophorus orbicollis</i>

Steiger, Sandra; Gershman, Susan N.; Pettinger, Adam; Eggert, Anne‐Katrin; Sakaluk, Scott K.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2011.01895.x

Cited by 52 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 102 publications

(203 reference statements)

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“…Table adapted from Cremer et al [7], which also contains information on whether these defences are prophylactic or induced. References of frass as nest material has been shown to limit parasite development [46,47,[49][50][51]. The maintenance of frass in the nest may also provide immune benefits by allowing exchanges of endosymbionts and other immune factors among group members.…”

Section: Social Immunity In Eusocial Non-eusocial and Solitary Insectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social immunity and the evolution of group living in insects

Meunier

2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

160

180

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One contribution of 14 to a theme issue 'The sociality-health -fitness nexus in animal societies'. The evolution of group living requires that individuals limit the inherent risks of parasite infection. To this end, group living insects have developed a unique capability of mounting collective anti-parasite defences, such as allogrooming and corpse removal from the nest. Over the last 20 years, this phenomenon (called social immunity) was mostly studied in eusocial insects, with results emphasizing its importance in derived social systems. However, the role of social immunity in the early evolution of group living remains unclear. Here, I investigate this topic by first presenting the definitions of social immunity and discussing their applications across social systems. I then provide an up-to-date appraisal of the collective and individual mechanisms of social immunity described in eusocial insects and show that they have counterparts in non-eusocial species and even solitary species. Finally, I review evidence demonstrating that the increased risks of parasite infection in group living species may both decrease and increase the level of personal immunity, and discuss how the expression of social immunity could drive these opposite effects. By highlighting similarities and differences of social immunity across social systems, this review emphasizes the potential importance of this phenomenon in the early evolution of the multiple forms of group living in insects.

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Section: Social Immunity In Eusocial Non-eusocial and Solitary Insectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social immunity and the evolution of group living in insects

Meunier

2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

160

180

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“…Sexual dimorphism in immunoresponsiveness is widespread among invertebrate and vertebrate taxa (e.g., McKean and Nunney 2005;Love et al 2008;Nunn et al 2009;Gershman et al 2010;Aisenberg and Peretti 2011;Steiger et al 2011). In adult vertebrates, males typically respond to immunological challenges less robustly than females (Møller et al 1998;Klein 2000;Hasselquist 2007;Nunn et al 2009;Pap et al 2010; but see Tieleman et al 2010), but when this difference in immune function manifests itself is less well-documented, particularly in birds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Condition-dependent sex difference in nestling House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) response to phytohaemagglutinin injection

et al. 2014

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Adult male and female birds typically respond differently to immunological challenges, but whether this difference is present in altricial nestlings is not well-documented. Furthermore, the timing of the development of different axes of the immune system might vary in nestlings and also be affected by differences in condition and health state. We tested for sex-related differences in the immune response of nestling House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon Vieillot, 1809) to the injection of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and in the bacteria-killing capacity of their plasma. Based on prior work, we predicted that if there were sex-related differences in immune responsiveness, they would most likely occur when the sexes differed in some measure of condition or health state. Female nestlings had a stronger response to the injection of PHA than males in the one of three breeding seasons in which the condition of nestling females exceeded that of males, suggesting that the response to PHA injection is condition-dependent rather than sex-dependent. The sexes, however, did not differ in bactericidal activity, suggesting that different axes of the immune system may not be affected to the same degree by differences in sex or in condition. Résumé :Si les oiseaux adultes mâles et femelles réagissent généralement différemment à des stimuli immunologiques, cette différence n'est pas bien documentée chez les oisillons nidicoles. En outre, le moment du développement de différents axes du système immunitaire pourrait varier chez les oisillons et être influencé par des différences sur le plan de l'embonpoint et de l'état de santé. Nous avons vérifié la présence de différences associées au sexe en ce qui concerne la réaction immunitaire d'oisillons de troglodyte familier (Troglodytes aedon Vieillot, 1809) à l'injection de phytohémagglutinine (PHA) et la capacité bactéricide de leur plasma. À la lumière de travaux antérieurs, nous avions prédit que d'éventuelles différences immunitaires associées au sexe seraient plus susceptibles de se produire en cas de différences entre les sexes sur le plan de l'embonpoint ou de l'état de santé. Les oisillons femelles présentaient une réaction plus forte à l'injection de PHA que les mâles pour celle des trois périodes de reproduction durant laquelle l'embonpoint des oisillons femelles était supérieur à celui des mâles, ce qui indiquerait que la réaction à l'injection de PHA dépend de l'embonpoint plutôt que du sexe. L'activité bactéricide ne variait pas selon le sexe, ce qui porte à croire que différents axes du système immunitaire pourraient ne pas être influencés dans la même mesure par des différences associées au sexe ou à l'embonpoint. [Traduit par la Rédaction] Mots-clés : troglodyte familier, Troglodytes aedon, réaction immunitaire dépendant du sexe et de l'embonpoint, essai à la PHA, épreuve du pouvoir bactéricide du plasma.

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“…However, although we employed a standard method to quantify PO activity in insects and crayfish (e.g. Ruuhola et al 2010, Steiger et al 2011, Ardia et al 2012, it has to be noted that any interpretations must be done carefully, since this method does not discriminate between spontaneously activated enzyme and remaining proenzyme. Our results suggest that future research should examine potential inter-population variation in resistance of the noble crayfish to the two A. astaci genotypes, with emphasis on immunological mechanisms and the significance of epidemic size.…”

Section: Resistance To the Crayfish Plague And Immune Defencementioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in Resistance to the Invasive Crayfish Plague and Immune Defence in the Native Noble Crayfish

Gruber¹,

Kortet²,

Vainikka³

et al. 2014

Annales Zoologici Fennici

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Emerging diseases, such as the crayfish plague, are a worldwide problem with serious ecological and economic impacts. Under the framework of ecological immunology, we investigated whether variation in crayfish plague resistance, the indicators of immune defence (encapsulation response, phenoloxidase and lytic activity), and the exploration behaviour among four subpopulations of noble crayfish is explained by potential local adaptation through differences in crayfish plague history, or alternatively by geographical divergence in a large watershed. We examined whether the strength of immune defence is associated with survival and exploration behaviour. Survival time after experimental crayfish plague infection and phenoloxidase activity differed among the subpopulations of the watershed but did not reveal local adaptation to the disease. Increased investment in immune defence (i.e. encapsulation response) compromised survival time after infection, suggesting the self-reactivity costs of mounting a strong immune response. Exploration behaviour was negatively associated with phenoloxidase activity before and after immune challenge. IntroductionEvolving and maintaining parasite resistance and variation in immune defence are essential for host population persistence, since parasites and pathogens can reduce host growth, reproductive success and survival prospects (Goater & Holmes 1997, Zuk & Stoehr 2002). Due to a long co-evolutionary history, parasites often show low virulence and host populations high levels of resistance (see Schmid-Hempel 2011). In contrast to local, familiar parasites, nonnative parasites are often highly virulent, causing heavy host mortality and population crashes, as observed in fish and crayfish (Bakke & Harris 1998, Bangyeekhun 2002, Edgerton et al. 2004). The evolvability of resistance or tolerance is a key mechanism for understanding and forecasting the dynamics of host populations in response to emerging diseases caused by non-native parasites and pathogens. Host genetic diversity in immune defence can play an important role in evolving resistance in a population (Altizer et al. 2003). The evolution of resistance should be favoured when parasites and pathogens pose a strong selection pressure on hosts but is only possible when some of the hosts survive and remain able to reproduce (Duncan & Little 2007, Duffy & Forde 2009. Recent studies have shown that disease resistance against pathogens in Drosophila melanogaster can evolve in less than ten generations under laboratory conditions (Ye et al. 2009), and natural populations of Daphnia magna planktonic crustaceans are able to evolve immune defence in less than a decade (Pauwels et al. 2010). Whether hosts in the wild can evolve fast enough in response to emerging diseases is still uncertain. Emerging diseases resulting from the introduction of non-native parasites and pathogens are often well documented and offer the opportunity to investigate evolutionary processes, such as the evolving resistance and immune defences of the new host in th...

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Sex differences in immunity and rapid upregulation of immune defence during parental care in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis

Cited by 52 publications

References 102 publications

Social immunity and the evolution of group living in insects

Social immunity and the evolution of group living in insects

Condition-dependent sex difference in nestling House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) response to phytohaemagglutinin injection

Variation in Resistance to the Invasive Crayfish Plague and Immune Defence in the Native Noble Crayfish

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