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

该项目调查了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利用一个实验上易于处理的毛虫及其寄生蜂模型系统，进行旨在揭示寄生蜂如何通过操纵其宿主毛虫高度调节的营养摄入而获益的实验。本研究的基本科学价值源于综合动物营养学、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提供了科学知识。公众外展影响将通过康涅狄格州米德尔塞克斯县的小学，以及贝尔纳多女士作为康涅狄格州昆虫学会副主席的职位来实现。学校项目将重点介绍实验室保存的昆虫的自然历史，而CT昆虫学协会项目将为康涅狄格州所有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。拟寄生物必须对抗寄主的防御，改变寄主的行为和生理，以达到自己的目的。寄生物对宿主营养摄入的操纵可能是这种相互作用的基本组成部分，但在宿主-寄生虫相互作用的更广泛领域中，它的研究有限。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虫寄主摄食行为的操纵。从这一寄主-寄生蜂相互作用的初步证据表明，寄主幼虫被寄生蜂寄生后，其营养摄取量发生了改变，而寄主摄食行为的这种改变有利于寄生蜂。据推测，改变寄主的膳食营养可以对拟寄生虫的生长性能和寄主的免疫功能产生很大的影响。因此，拟寄生物可以操纵宿主的营养摄入，从而最大限度地向被拟寄生物吃掉的宿主组织提供营养，或者限制宿主最大免疫功能所需的营养。研究人员建议操纵宿主饮食中的宏量营养素比例，并利用生态免疫学和昆虫生理学领域的技术来评估这些假设的营养介导的宿主操纵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，并在发布时可供访问。

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.