1. Social cues trigger differential immune investment strategies in a non-social insect, Tenebrio molitor
- Author
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Gallagher, Joe D., Siva-Jothy, Michael T., and Evison, Sophie E. F.
- Abstract
Social immunization (SI) is a horizontal transfer of immunity that protects naive hosts against infection following exposure to infected nestmates. While mainly documented in eusocial insects, non-social species also share similar ecological features which favour the development of group-level immunity. Here, we investigate SI in Tenebrio molitorby pairing naive females with a pathogen-challenged conspecific for 72 h before measuring a series of immune and fitness traits. We found no evidence for SI, as beetles who cohabited with a live pathogen-challenged conspecific were not better protected against bacterial challenge. However, exposure to a heat-killed-bacteria-challenged conspecific appeared to increase pathogen tolerance, which manifested in differential fitness investment. Our results together suggest that T. molitordo respond to immune-related cues in the social environment, despite not showing a classic immunization response as predicted.
- Published
- 2018
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