INVESTIGADORES
PALACIOS Maria Gabriela
artículos
Título:
Complex Interplay of Body Condition, Life History, and Prevailing Environment Shapes Immune Defenses of Garter Snakes in the Wild
Autor/es:
PALACIOS M. G.; CUNNICK, J. E.; BRONIKOWSKI, A. M.
Revista:
PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ZOOLOGY
Editorial:
UNIV CHICAGO PRESS
Referencias:
Lugar: Chicago; Año: 2013 vol. 86 p. 547 - 558
ISSN:
1522-2152
Resumen:
The immunocompetence ?pace-of-life? hypothesis
proposes that fast-living organisms should invest more in innate immune
defenses and less in adaptive defenses compared to slow-living ones. We had
found some support for this hypothesis in two life-history ecotypes of the
snake Thamnophis elegans: fast-living
individuals show higher levels of innate immunity compared to slow-living ones.
Here, we optimized a lymphocyte proliferation assay to assess the complementary
prediction that slow-living snakes should in turn show stronger adaptive
defenses. We also assessed the ?environmental? hypothesis that predicts that
slow-living snakes should show lower levels of immune defenses (both innate and
adaptive) given the harsher environment they live in. Proliferation of B- and
T-lymphocytes of free-living individuals was on average higher in fast-living
than slow-living snakes, opposing the pace-of-life and supporting the
environmental hypothesis. Bactericidal capacity of plasma, an index of innate
immunity, did not differ between fast-living and slow-living snakes in this
study, contrasting the previously documented pattern and highlighting the
importance of annual environmental conditions as determinants of immune
profiles of free-living animals. Our results do not negate a link between
life-history and immunity, as indicated by ecotype-specific relationships
between lymphocyte proliferation and body condition, but suggest more subtle
nuances than those currently proposed.