A host immune hormone modifies parasite species interactions and epidemics: insights from a field manipulation.

ABSTRACT: Parasite epidemics can depend on priority effects, and parasite priority effects can result from the host immune response to prior infection. Yet we lack experimental evidence that such immune-mediated priority effects influence epidemics. To address this research gap, we manipulated key host immune hormones, then measured the consequences for within-host parasite interactions, and ultimately parasite epidemics in the field. Specifically, we applied plant immune-signalling hormones to sentinel plants, embedded into a wild host population, and tracked foliar infections caused by two common fungal parasites. Within-host individuals, priority effects were altered by the immune-signalling hormone, salicylic acid (SA). Scaling up from within-host interactions, hosts treated with SA experienced

SUBMITTER: Halliday FW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6235036 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature