Non-MHC immunity genes do not affect parasite load in European invasive populations of common raccoon.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the evolutionary mechanisms behind invasion success enables predicting which alien species and populations are the most predisposed to become invasive. Parasites may mediate the success of biological invasions through their effect on host fitness. The evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis assumes that escape from parasites during the invasion process allows introduced species to decrease investment in immunity and allocate resources to dispersal and reproduction. Consequently, the selective pressure of parasites on host species in the invasive range should be relaxed. We used the case of the raccoon Procyon lotor invasion in Europe to investigate the effect of gastrointestinal pathogen pressure on non-MHC immune genetic diversity of newly established in

SUBMITTER: Biedrzycka A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10514260 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature