DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Nutrient-mediated Manipulation of Host Feeding Behavior by a Parasitoid

论文研究：拟寄生物对宿主摄食行为的营养介导操纵

• 批准号: 1501538
• 负责人: Michael Singer
• 金额: $ 1.85万
• 依托单位: Wesleyan University
• 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: 2015-08-01 至 2018-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1501538&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Nutrient; mediated; Manipulation

This project investigates how an animal's nutrient intake affects its interaction with its parasites. Using an experimentally tractable model system of a caterpillar and its parasitic wasp, Dr. Singer and Ms. Bernardo will conduct experiments designed to reveal how the parasitic wasp benefits by manipulating its host caterpillar's highly regulated nutrient intake. The basic scientific value of this research stems from integrating the perspectives of animal nutrition, immunology, and behavioral ecology, while also contributing to scientific knowledge used in pest control in agriculture and forestry. Public outreach impacts will happen through Elementary Schools in Middlesex County, CT, and Ms. Bernardo's position as vice-president of the Connecticut Entomological Society. The school program will highlight the natural history of insects kept in the lab, while the CT Entomological Society program will organize outreach activities for Connecticut residents of all ages and provide opportunities for other students to share their research with the community at an annual Student Symposium.Parasitoids must battle host defenses and alter the behavior and physiology of their hosts to their own benefit. Parasitoid manipulation of host nutrient intake might be a fundamental component of such interactions, yet it has received limited study in the broader field of host-parasite interactions. This research will test alternative functional hypotheses that could explain manipulation of caterpillar host feeding behavior by a parasitoid wasp. Preliminary evidence from this host-parasitoid interaction suggests that host caterpillars exhibit altered nutrient intake when parasitized by the parasitoid wasp, and this change in host feeding behavior benefits the parasitoid. Hypothetically, altering dietary nutrients of the host can have large effects on parasitoid growth performance and host immune function. Consequently, parasitoids could manipulate host nutrient intake so as to maximize the nutrient supply to host tissues eaten by the parasitoid, or to limit nutrients required for maximal host immune function. The researchers propose to manipulate macronutrient ratios in host diets and use techniques employed in the field of ecoimmunology and insect physiology to evaluate these hypothetical mechanisms of nutrient-mediated host manipulation, and their possible interaction. Data from this project will be stored at Wesleyan University and made accessible as published.

该项目研究动物的营养摄入如何影响其与寄生虫的相互作用。 辛格博士和贝尔纳多女士将使用毛毛虫及其寄生黄蜂的实验易处理模型系统进行实验，旨在揭示寄生黄蜂如何通过操纵其宿主毛毛虫高度调节的营养摄入量而受益。 这项研究的基本科学价值源于整合动物营养学、免疫学和行为生态学的观点，同时也为农业和林业害虫防治的科学知识做出了贡献。公众外展影响将通过康涅狄格州米德尔塞克斯县的小学以及伯纳多女士担任康涅狄格州昆虫学会副主席的职位产生。 学校计划将重点介绍实验室中保存的昆虫的自然历史，而 CT 昆虫学会计划将为康涅狄格州各年龄段的居民组织外展活动，并为其他学生提供机会，在年度学生研讨会上与社区分享他们的研究成果。寄生蜂必须对抗宿主的防御，并改变宿主的行为和生理机能，以使其自身受益。 寄生物对宿主营养摄入的操纵可能是这种相互作用的一个基本组成部分，但在宿主-寄生虫相互作用的更广泛领域中，其研究还很有限。这项研究将测试其他功能假设，这些假设可以解释寄生蜂对毛毛虫宿主摄食行为的操纵。 这种寄主与拟寄生物相互作用的初步证据表明，当寄主毛毛虫被寄生蜂寄生时，其营养摄入量会发生改变，而寄主摄食行为的这种变化有利于寄生蜂。 假设，改变宿主的饮食营养可以对拟寄生物的生长性能和宿主免疫功能产生很大影响。 因此，寄生蜂可以操纵宿主的营养摄入，从而最大限度地向被寄生蜂吃掉的宿主组织提供营养，或者限制最大宿主免疫功能所需的营养。 研究人员建议操纵宿主饮食中的常量营养素比例，并使用生态免疫学和昆虫生理学领域采用的技术来评估这些营养介导的宿主操纵的假设机制及其可能的相互作用。该项目的数据将存储在卫斯理大学，并在发布后可供访问。