DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Effects of immune gene diversity on immune function and survival in an endangered bird

论文研究：免疫基因多样性对濒危鸟类免疫功能和生存的影响

• 批准号: 1501347
• 负责人: Peter Dunn
• 金额: $ 1.85万
• 依托单位: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-07-01 至 2017-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1501347&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Effects; immune; gene

The increasing emergence and spread of pathogens are serious concerns for both human and wildlife populations. The threat is substantially greater for populations of endangered species because they often have reduced genetic diversity, which could impair immune function and increase their susceptibility to disease. However, to date no studies have directly examined diversity at immune genes and their relationship to both disease resistance and survival. In greater prairie-chickens, we previously found that diversity at a variety of immune genes was reduced in small populations, but it remains unclear how that will affect individuals. The current study will extend that research and specifically examine how immune gene diversity in individuals is related to their immune function and survival in the wild. Thus, the results from this study will provide a broader understanding of the importance of immune gene diversity to individual survival and ultimately entire populations. The Attwater?s prairie-chicken is one of the most endangered birds in North America. The persistence of the remaining wild population relies entirely on a large captive breeding and release program in Texas. About 200 captive-bred juveniles are released each year, but 79% of them die within nine months. It is known that outbred individuals have greater survival, but previous work showed no relationship between genome-wide genetic diversity and four immunological assays for pathogen resistance. The intense captive breeding and release program provides an unparalleled opportunity to study how diversity at immune genes directly influences immune function and survival. This study will characterize immune gene diversity across a wide array of immune genes (encompassing both innate and acquired immunity) in prairie-chickens and correlate it with data on immune function and survival already obtained from previously released birds. The results from this study will provide a broader understanding of the links between immune genes and survival, and, therefore, help managers make informed decisions about which individuals to pair for breeding or release into the wild.

病原体的不断出现和传播是人类和野生动物种群的严重关切。对于濒临灭绝的物种来说，威胁要大得多，因为它们的遗传多样性往往减少，这可能会损害免疫功能并增加它们对疾病的易感性。然而，迄今为止，还没有研究直接检验免疫基因的多样性及其与抗病性和生存的关系。在较大的草原鸡中，我们之前发现小群体中多种免疫基因的多样性有所降低，但目前尚不清楚这将如何影响个体。目前的研究将扩展该研究，并专门研究个体的免疫基因多样性与其免疫功能和野外生存的关系。因此，这项研究的结果将使人们更广泛地了解免疫基因多样性对个体生存乃至整个种群的重要性。阿特沃特草原鸡是北美最濒危的鸟类之一。剩余野生种群的持续存在完全依赖于德克萨斯州的大型圈养繁殖和释放计划。每年大约有 200 只圈养幼体被释放，但其中 79% 在 9 个月内死亡。众所周知，远交个体具有更高的存活率，但之前的研究表明全基因组遗传多样性与四种病原体抗性免疫学测定之间没有关系。密集的圈养繁殖和释放计划为研究免疫基因的多样性如何直接影响免疫功能和生存提供了无与伦比的机会。这项研究将表征草原鸡中多种免疫基因（包括先天性和后天性免疫）的免疫基因多样性，并将其与从先前释放的鸟类中获得的免疫功能和生存数据相关联。这项研究的结果将提供对免疫基因与生存之间联系的更广泛的了解，从而帮助管理者就哪些个体配对繁殖或释放到野外做出明智的决定。