Immunodynamics of field voles

田鼠的免疫动力学

• 批准号: NE/E015158/1
• 负责人: Michael Begon
• 金额: $ 51.46万
• 依托单位: University of Liverpool
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2007 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FE015158%2F1
• 关键词: Immunodynamics; field; voles

All organisms, plant or animal, vertebrate or invertebrate, are afflicted by infectious disease, but in spite of medical and veterinary advances, we remain largely ignorant of the effects of infectious disease on natural (wildlife) populations and communities. All organisms are able to offer some level of resistance to infections, but these reach their highest sophistication in the immune defences of the higher vertebrates: birds and mammals. There are many facets to these immune defences: some providing rather general resistance, others directed at particular types of infection: viruses, or parasitic worms, for example. Even within a species, the overall level of immune defence, and the particular facet that dominates, varies from population to population and from individual to individual. But we are largely ignorant, too, of even the extent of this variation, to say nothing of its causes. Nonetheless, such 'immune-preparedness' almost certainly reflects both the conditions in which an individual is living (how crowded, how cold) and the infections it is, or has been, subjected to. This project, then, will seek to break new ground in uncovering these relationships: how the past and present experiences of an individual, both in general and with regard to infection, are reflected in that individual's immune profile and hence in its ability to fight infection. The study of infectious disease in wildlife has itself been hindered greatly by a characteristic that parasites and pathogens do not share with other 'enemies': we can only study parasites that we specifically search for. Unlike predators, say, we cannot see them unless we consciously look for them. Hence, there is a constant danger that the parasites we do study - only a very small proportion of the total - are not typical. One way around this, however, would be not to study any particular pathogen, but to study responses in the host that indicate infection 'in general': that is, the immune responses that are at the heart of this project. Instead, for example, of studying whether a particular (perhaps atypical) pathogen affects the survival of its host, we can ask whether host responses that indicate 'infection' are associated with reduced survival. This, too, is the objective of this project. These linked questions - how does the immune profile reflect the current state of an individual? and can the immune profile be used as a proxy for the totality of infections? - will be studied in a population of wild rodents, field voles, in Kielder Forest, Northumberland. We have past experience with these populations and know that they exhibit regular fluctuiations in abundance that will allow us to study them at a wide range of densities and conditions, maximising our chances of uncovering the relationships we seek. We will use a variety of measures of the immune profile, newer and more conventional, covering its various facets. We will also study a varied but very limited number of parasites - a virus, two bacteria and helminth worms - in order to utilise the opportunity to relate the immune profiles of individuals to specific infections that we know (also from past experience) to be common.

所有生物，植物或动物，脊椎动物或无脊椎动物，都受到传染病的折磨，但尽管医学和兽医取得了进步，我们在很大程度上仍然对传染病对自然（野生动物）种群和群落的影响一无所知。所有生物都能提供一定程度的抗感染能力，但在高等脊椎动物（鸟类和哺乳动物）的免疫防御中，这些能力达到了最高水平。这些免疫防御有许多方面：一些提供相当普遍的抵抗力，另一些针对特定类型的感染：例如病毒或寄生虫。即使在一个物种内，免疫防御的总体水平和占主导地位的特定方面也因种群和个体而异。但是，我们在很大程度上也不知道这种变化的程度，更不用说它的原因了。尽管如此，这种“免疫准备”几乎肯定反映了一个人的生活条件（有多拥挤，有多冷）以及他正在或已经遭受的感染。因此，该项目将寻求在揭示这些关系方面开辟新天地：个人的过去和现在的经历，无论是一般的还是关于感染的，如何反映在个人的免疫概况中，从而反映在其抵抗感染的能力中。寄生虫和病原体与其他“敌人”所不具有的一个特征，极大地阻碍了对野生动物传染病的研究：我们只能研究我们专门寻找的寄生虫。不像捕食者，比如说，除非我们有意识地寻找它们，否则我们是看不到它们的。因此，我们所研究的寄生虫——只占总数的很小一部分——不具有典型的危险性是一种持续存在的危险。然而，解决这个问题的一种方法是不研究任何特定的病原体，而是研究宿主的反应，表明“一般”感染：也就是说，免疫反应是这个项目的核心。相反，例如，在研究一种特定的（可能是非典型的）病原体是否影响其宿主的生存时，我们可以询问表明“感染”的宿主反应是否与生存降低有关。这也是这个项目的目标。这些相互关联的问题——免疫状况如何反映一个人的当前状态？免疫图谱是否可以作为感染总数的代表？-将在诺森伯兰郡基尔德森林的一群野生啮齿动物——田鼠中进行研究。我们过去对这些种群有过研究经验，知道它们在数量上表现出规律的波动，这将使我们能够在广泛的密度和条件下研究它们，从而最大限度地发现我们所寻找的关系。我们将使用各种新的和更传统的免疫轮廓测量方法，涵盖其各个方面。我们还将研究各种各样但数量非常有限的寄生虫——一种病毒、两种细菌和蠕虫——以便利用这个机会将个体的免疫特征与我们所知道的（也来自过去的经验）常见的特定感染联系起来。

项目成果

Genetic diversity in cytokines associated with immune variation and resistance to multiple pathogens in a natural rodent population.

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1002343
• 发表时间: 2011-10
• 期刊: PLoS genetics
• 影响因子: 4.5
• 作者: Turner AK;Begon M;Jackson JA;Bradley JE;Paterson S
• 通讯作者: Paterson S

Evidence for selection at cytokine loci in a natural population of field voles (Microtus agrestis).

田鼠（Microtus agrestis）自然群体中细胞因子基因座选择的证据。

• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2012.05501.x
• 发表时间: 2012
• 期刊: Molecular ecology
• 影响因子: 4.9
• 作者: Turner AK

Spatial analyses of wildlife contact networks.

• DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2014.1004
• 发表时间: 2015-01-06
• 期刊: Journal of the Royal Society, Interface
• 作者: Davis S;Abbasi B;Shah S;Telfer S;Begon M
• 通讯作者: Begon M

An immunological marker of tolerance to infection in wild rodents.

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001901
• 发表时间: 2014-07
• 期刊: PLoS biology
• 影响因子: 9.8
• 作者: Jackson JA;Hall AJ;Friberg IM;Ralli C;Lowe A;Zawadzka M;Turner AK;Stewart A;Birtles RJ;Paterson S;Bradley JE;Begon M
• 通讯作者: Begon M

Host-parasite biology in the real world: the field voles of Kielder.

• DOI: 10.1017/s0031182014000171
• 发表时间: 2014-07
• 期刊: Parasitology
• 影响因子: 2.4
• 作者: Turner AK;Beldomenico PM;Bown K;Burthe SJ;Jackson JA;Lambin X;Begon M
• 通讯作者: Begon M