Evolutionary trade-off between innate and acquired immune defences in birds.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The development, maintenance, and use of immune defences are costly. Therefore, animals face trade-offs in terms of resource allocation within their immune system and between their immune system and other physiological processes. To maximize fitness, evolution may favour investment in one immunological defence or subsystem over another in a way that matches a species broader life history strategy. Here, we used phylogenetically-informed comparative analyses to test for relationships between two immunological components. Natural antibodies and complement were used as proxies for the innate branch; structural complexity of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region was used for the acquired branch.

Results

We found a negative association between the levels of

SUBMITTER: Minias P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10486109 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature