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

病原体的不断出现和传播是人类和野生动物群体的严重关切。对濒危物种种群的威胁要大得多，因为它们的遗传多样性往往减少，这可能会损害免疫功能，增加它们对疾病的易感性。然而，到目前为止，还没有研究直接研究免疫基因的多样性及其与抗病性和生存的关系。在大草原鸡中，我们以前发现，在小种群中，各种免疫基因的多样性减少，但仍不清楚这将如何影响个体。目前的研究将扩展该研究，并具体研究个体中的免疫基因多样性如何与其免疫功能和野外生存相关。因此，这项研究的结果将提供更广泛的理解免疫基因多样性对个体生存和最终整个人群的重要性。阿特沃特？草原鸡是北美最濒危的鸟类之一。剩余的野生种群的持久性完全依赖于德克萨斯州的一个大型圈养繁殖和释放计划。每年大约有200只人工饲养的幼鱼被释放，但其中79%在9个月内死亡。众所周知，远系繁殖的个体具有更高的存活率，但先前的工作表明全基因组遗传多样性与病原体抗性的四种免疫测定之间没有关系。激烈的圈养繁殖和释放计划提供了一个无与伦比的机会，研究免疫基因的多样性如何直接影响免疫功能和生存。这项研究将表征草原鸡中广泛的免疫基因（包括先天性和获得性免疫）的免疫基因多样性，并将其与先前发布的鸟类的免疫功能和存活数据相关联。这项研究的结果将为免疫基因与生存之间的联系提供更广泛的理解，因此，有助于管理人员做出明智的决定，决定将哪些个体配对繁殖或释放到野外。

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.