Evolution Of Behavioral Immune Responses In Fruit Flies: Tradeoffs, Mechanisms, And Genetics

由于免疫防御寄生虫是昂贵的，主机预计将平衡使用不同的防御机制和放弃免疫时，他们不需要它。然而，替代防御机制之间的权衡的实验证据是稀缺的。测试免疫反应权衡的理想系统是一组密切相关的宿主物种，它们在野外面临类似的寄生虫，并采用多种防御措施。研究人员将使用果蝇属的黑腹果蝇种组的果蝇，沿着它们共同的来自Figitidae家族的内寄生蜂，来测试细胞和行为免疫防御在宏观进化尺度上相互权衡的假设。研究人员将利用D. melanogaster是一个遗传模型系统，用于测试视觉和脑神经肽F信号在果蝇对黄蜂寄生虫的自我药物反应中的可疑作用。研究人员还将采取RNA测序和关联图谱相结合的方法来发现启动行为防御所需的更多大脑基因。该项目将导致识别不同免疫机制之间的进化权衡以及行为免疫反应的机制和遗传基础。该项目的更广泛影响包括为科学界维护和分发寄生蜂品系，以及在行为、细胞生物学和遗传学方面对本科生和研究生进行教育和培训。调查人员还将与公立高中教师合作，开发注重动手、以学生为中心和以探究为基础的学习方法的课堂项目 利用苍蝇和黄蜂的免疫相互作用。

Because immune defenses against parasites are costly, hosts are expected to balance the use of different defense mechanisms and to forego immunity when they do not need it. However, experimental evidence for trade-offs between alternative defense mechanisms is scarce. The ideal system to test for immune response tradeoffs would be a group of closely related host species that face similar parasites in the wild, and that employ multiple kinds of defenses. The investigators will use fruit flies of the melanogaster species group of the genus Drosophila, along with their shared endoparasitoid wasps from the family Figitidae, to test the hypothesis that cellular and behavioral immune defenses trade off with each other on a macro-evolutionary scale. The investigators will take advantage of the fact that D. melanogaster is a genetic model system to test the suspected roles of sight and brain neuropeptide F signaling in fly self-medication responses against wasp parasites. The investigators will also take a combined RNA-seq and association mapping approach to uncover further brain genes required for initiating behavioral defenses. This project will result in the identification of evolutionary trade-offs between different immune mechanisms as well as the mechanistic and genetic underpinnings of behavioral immune responses. Broader impacts of the project include the maintenance and distribution of parasitic wasp strains for the scientific community and the education and training of undergraduate and graduate students in aspects of behavior, cellular biology, and genetics. The investigators will also collaborate with public high school teachers to develop classroom projects focused on hands-on, student-centered, and inquiry-based learning approaches using the fly-wasp immunological interactions.