Immunocompetence of nestling great tits in relation to rearing environment and parentage

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_1549CBDE0C05
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Title
Immunocompetence of nestling great tits in relation to rearing environment and parentage
Journal
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences
Author(s)
Brinkhof Martin W.G, Heeb Philipp, Kölliker Mathias, Richner Heinz
ISSN
0962-8452
1471-2954
Publication state
Published
Issued date
22/11/1999
Volume
266
Number
1435
Pages
2315-2322
Language
english
Abstract
Theoretical models of host?parasite coevolution assume a partially genetic basis to the variability in susceptibility to parasites among hosts, for instance as a result of genetic variation in immune function. However, few empirical data exist for free-living vertebrate hosts to support this presumption. In a cross-fostering experiment with nestling great tits, by comparing nestlings of the same origin we investigated (i) the variance in host resistance against an ectoparasite due to a common genetic origin, (ii) the effect of ectoparasite infestation on cell- mediated immunity and (iii) the variance in cell-mediated immunity due to a common genetic origin. Ectoparasitic hen fleas can impair the growth of nestling great tits and nestling growth was therefore taken as a measure of host susceptibility. A common origin did not account for a significant part of the variation in host susceptibility to fleas. There was no significant overall effect of fleas on nestling growth or cell-mediated immunity, as assessed by a cutaneous hypersensitivity response. A common rearing environment explained a significant part of the variation in cell-mediated immunity among nestlings, mainly through its effect on nestling body mass. The variation in cell-mediated immunity was also related to a common origin. However, the origin-related variation in body mass did not account for the origin-related differences in cell-mediated immunity. The results of the present study thus suggest heritable variation in cell-mediated immunity among nestling great tits.
Keywords
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, General Environmental Science, General Immunology and Microbiology, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, General Medicine
Web of science
Create date
19/11/2007 10:36
Last modification date
18/04/2023 15:48
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