When confronted with a parasite or pathogen, hosts can defend themselves by resisting or tolerating the attack. While resistance can be diminished when resources are limited, it is unclear how robust tolerance is to changes in environmental conditions. Here, we investigate the sensitivity of tolerance in a single host population living in a highly variable environment. We manipulated the abundance of an invasive parasitic fly, Philornis downsi, in nests of Galápagos mockingbirds (Mimus parvulus) over four field seasons and measured host fitness in response to parasitism. Mockingbird tolerance to P. downsi varied significantly among years and decreased when rainfall was limited. Video observations indicate that parental provisioning of nestlings appears key to tolerance: in drought years, mockingbirds likely do not have sufficient resources to compensate for the effects of P. downsi. These results indicate that host tolerance is a labile trait and suggest that environmental variation plays a major role in mediating the consequences of host -parasite interactions.
Emerging pathogens can have devastating effects on naïve hosts, but disease outcomes often vary among host species. Comparing the cellular response of different hosts to infection can provide insight into mechanisms of host defence. Here, we used RNA-seq to characterize the transcriptomic response of Darwin's finches to avian poxvirus, a disease of concern in the Galápagos Islands. We tested whether gene expression differs between infected and uninfected birds, and whether transcriptomic differences were related either to known antiviral mechanisms and/or the co-option of the host cellular environment by the virus. We compared two species, the medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis) and the vegetarian finch (Platyspiza crassirostris), to determine whether endemic Galápagos species differ in their response to pox. We found that medium ground finches had a strong transcriptomic response to infection, upregulating genes involved in the innate immune response including interferon production, inflammation, and other immune signalling pathways. In contrast, vegetarian finches had a more limited response, and some changes in this species were consistent with viral manipulation of the host's cellular function and metabolism.Many of the transcriptomic changes mirrored responses documented in model and in vitro studies of poxviruses. Our results thus indicate that many pathways of host defence against poxviruses are conserved among vertebrates and present even in hosts without a long evolutionary history with the virus. At the same time, the differences we observed between closely related species suggests that some endemic species of Galápagos finch could be more susceptible to avian pox than others.
BackgroundMeasuring the evolutionary rate of reproductive isolation is essential to understanding how new species form. Tempo calculations typically rely on fossil records, geological events, and molecular evolution analyses. The speed at which genetically-based hybrid mortality arises, or the “incompatibility clock”, is estimated to be millions of years in various diploid organisms and is poorly understood in general. Owing to these extended timeframes, seldom do biologists observe the evolution of hybrid mortality in real time.ResultsHere we report the very recent spread and fixation of complete asymmetric F1 hybrid mortality within eight years of laboratory maintenance in the insect model Nasonia. The asymmetric interspecific hybrid mortality evolved in an isogenic stock line of N. longicornis and occurs in crosses to N. vitripennis males. The resulting diploid hybrids exhibit complete failure in dorsal closure during embryogenesis.ConclusionThese results comprise a unique case whereby a strong asymmetrical isolation barrier evolved in real time. The spread of this reproductive isolation barrier notably occurred in a small laboratory stock subject to recurrent bottlenecks.
Typically the extinction of a species is thought of as an ultimate end by conservation biologists. However, now with the advent of inter-species somatic cell nuclear transfer extinct species can be re-created using a tissue sample from the extinct species and oocytes from a related species. This technology has a long way to go before stable populations of previously extinct species can be created, but we must consider the ethics of re-creating extinct species and the potential consequences of de-extinction, whether positive or negative. Some argue re-creating extinct species could potentially allow for justice for these wronged species and new cultural, research, and ecological value. However, others think this process is too unnatural or hubristic and that it could also detract from conserving extant species and have negative effects on human societies and cultures or ecosystems. Re-creating extinct species may ultimately be an inevitable technological advancement, but we must consider all these issues to make sure de-extinction is pursued in such a way to have net positive effects.
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