Paternally derived immune priming for offspring in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum

1. Parasitized females in mammals, fish and birds can enhance the immune defence of their offspring by transferring specific antibodies for the embryo. Likewise, social insect mothers transfer immunity despite the fact that invertebrates lack antibodies. 2. Female trans-generational immune priming i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of animal ecology 2010-03, Vol.79 (2), p.403-413
Main Authors: Roth, Olivia, Joop, Gerrit, Eggert, Hendrik, Hilbert, Jonas, Daniel, Jens, Schmid-Hempel, Paul, Kurtz, Joachim
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis of Variance
Animal and plant ecology
Animal behavior
Animal ecology
Animal reproduction
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Antimicrobials
Bacillus thuringiensis
Bacillus thuringiensis - physiology
Bacteria
Beetles
Biological and medical sciences
Community ecology
Ecological genetics
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli - physiology
Evolutionary ecology
Female
Female animals
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
host-parasite interaction
Human ecology
immune defence
Immune system
insect
Insecta
Insects
Invertebrates
Male
Monophenol Monooxygenase - metabolism
parental effects
Survival Analysis
Time Factors
trans-generational
Tribolium - enzymology
Tribolium - growth & development
Tribolium - immunology
Tribolium - microbiology
Tribolium castaneum
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Summary:1. Parasitized females in mammals, fish and birds can enhance the immune defence of their offspring by transferring specific antibodies for the embryo. Likewise, social insect mothers transfer immunity despite the fact that invertebrates lack antibodies. 2. Female trans-generational immune priming is consistent with parental investment theory, because mothers invest more into rearing their offspring than fathers. However, when immune priming is not directly linked to parental care, as is often the case in insects that abandon their eggs after oviposition, both sexes might benefit from protecting their offspring. 3. Using the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, we show that after parental exposure to heat-killed bacteria, trans-generational immune priming occurs through fathers as well as mothers. 4. This novel finding challenges the traditional view that males provide only genes to their offspring in species without paternal care, and raises the possibility of a division of tasks with respect to immune protection between parents.
ISSN:0021-8790
1365-2656
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2656.2009.01617.x