Rapid seasonal evolution in innate immunity of wild Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the rate of evolutionary change and the genetic architecture that facilitates rapid adaptation is a current challenge in evolutionary biology. Comparative studies show that genes with immune function are among the most rapidly evolving genes across a range of taxa. Here, we use immune defence in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster to understand the rate of evolution in natural populations and the genetics underlying rapid change. We probed the immune system using the natural pathogens Enterococcus faecalis and Providencia rettgeri to measure post-infection survival and bacterial load of wild D. melanogaster populations collected across seasonal time along a latitudinal transect along eastern North America (Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and

SUBMITTER: Behrman EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5784205 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature