Collaborative Research: Reproductive Behavior and Pathogen Resistance

本项目将在性选择和生殖行为的背景下研究对病原体的抗性的进化。以蟋蟀为模型生物，这项研究有两个组成部分。首先，一种独特的求偶成分--胫骨支线喂养--对免疫系统的影响将在土制蟋蟀AlLonemobius Socius身上进行检验。雌性在交配时靠刺激雄性胫骨上的伤口进食，这使得雌性进入雄性的循环系统，并可能损害雄性的免疫反应。通过这种结婚礼物进行的性选择是如何影响男性和女性抵抗疾病的能力的？在处女和交配的雄性和雌性身上进行的一系列实验将检验胫骨喂养对包囊能力和对病原体抵抗力的影响。其次，一项比较研究将调查不同生活史的几种地面蟋蟀在免疫反应方面的性别差异。在季节性物种中，雌性必须在一段有限的时间内隔离资源以进行繁殖，与投资分散在较长时期的物种相比，季节性物种在免疫力方面是否表现出不同的性别偏见模式？尽管雄性脊椎动物的免疫反应通常比雌性脊椎动物弱，但在无脊椎动物身上很少有人探索这种差异，尽管在这些动物身上进行实验和野外操作具有优势。此外，很少有研究考察生殖行为和抗病能力之间的关系。

Lay summaryThis project will examine the evolution of resistance to pathogens in the context of sexual selection and reproductive behavior. Using crickets as model organisms, the research has two components. First, the effect on immunity of a unique component of courtship, tibial spur feeding, will be examined in the ground cricket Allonemobius socius. The female feeds from a wound she makes on a spur on the male's tibia during mating, allowing her access to the male's circulatory system and potentially compromising his immune response. How has sexual selection via this nuptial gift influenced male and female ability to resist disease? A series of experiments on virgin and mated males and females will examine the effect of tibial feeding on encapsulation ability and resistance to pathogens. Second, a comparative study will investigate sex differences in immune response across several ground cricket species that differ in life history. Do seasonal species, in which females must sequester resources for reproduction over a restricted period, show a different pattern of sex bias in immunity than species in which investment is spread out over a longer period? Although male vertebrates have generally weaker immune responses than females, such a difference has rarely been explored in invertebrates, despite the advantages of performing experimental and field manipulations in these animals. Furthermore, little research has examined the relationship between reproductive behavior and disease resistance.