Evolutionary genetics of the immune system in social insects

社会性昆虫免疫系统的进化遗传学。昆虫对病原体具有有效的先天免疫力，但社会性昆虫被认为是脆弱的，因为它们的相关个体聚集在一起。我们预测，病原体的压力随生活史和微生境的细节而变化，这种变化将反映在免疫系统基因的分子进化速率。将获得序列信息以测试这些预测。这些结果应该引起广泛的兴趣，因为它们反映了病原体和生命模式的重要性，并增加了我们对昆虫免疫系统的了解，可能使我们能够绕过害虫防御，更好地保护有益物种。

Evolutionary genetics of the immune system in social insects. Insects possess efficient innate immunity against pathogens, but social insects are suggested to be vulnerable due to their packed colonies of related individuals. We predict that pathogen pressure varies with life history and microhabitat details, and that this variation will be reflected in the molecular evolutionary rates of immune system genes. Sequence information will be obtained to test these predictions. The results should be of widespread interest as reflecting the importance of pathogens and life pattern, and increase our knowledge of insect immune systems, potentially enabling circumvention of pest defenses and better protection of beneficial species.