Sperm storage induces an immunity cost in ants
Sperm storage induces an immunity cost in ants
复制标题
DOI：
10.1038/nature04698
复制
发表时间：
2006-06-15
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
Boomsma, Jacobus J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Baer, Boris;Armitage, Sophie A. O.;Boomsma, Jacobus J.
蚁后是已知的最长寿的昆虫之一(1，2)。它们在成年早期交配，并在精子储存器官中保留数百万可存活的精子，直到多年后死亡(3，4)。因为它们永远不会重新交配，所以蜂王的繁殖成功归根结底是受精子限制的，但目前还不知道是什么选择性力量决定了精子存储的上限。在这里，我们展示了精子储存在克隆建立过程中免疫力下降的巨大代价。新交配的切叶蚂蚁Atta colombica在完成筑巢后不久就会增强免疫反应，这可能是在没有美容工人的情况下对病原体暴露更多的一种适应性反应。然而，群体建立9天后的免疫反应与精子储存器官中的精子数量呈负相关，这表明短期存活与长期繁殖成功之间存在权衡。当更多的男性贡献储存的精子时，免疫反应会降低，这表明交配或储存遗传上不同的射精液可能会有额外的成本。
Ant queens are among the most long-lived insects known(1,2). They mate early in adult life and maintain millions of viable sperm in their sperm storage organ until they die many years later(3,4). Because they never re-mate, the reproductive success of queens is ultimately sperm-limited, but it is not known what selective forces determine the upper limit to sperm storage. Here we show that sperm storage carries a significant cost of reduced immunity during colony founding. Newly mated queens of the leaf-cutting ant Atta colombica upregulate their immune response shortly after completing their nest burrow, probably as an adaptive response to a greater exposure to pathogens in the absence of grooming workers. However, the immune response nine days after colony founding is negatively correlated with the amount of sperm in the sperm storage organ, indicating that short-term survival is traded off against long-term reproductive success. The immune response was lower when more males contributed to the stored sperm, indicating that there might be an additional cost of mating or storing genetically different ejaculates.