Natural variation in colony inbreeding does not influence susceptibility to a fungal pathogen in a termite.

ABSTRACT: Reduced genetic diversity through inbreeding can negatively affect pathogen resistance. This relationship becomes more complicated in social species, such as social insects, since the chance of disease transmission increases with the frequency of interactions among individuals. However, social insects may benefit from social immunity, whereby individual physiological defenses may be bolstered by collective-level immune responses, such as grooming or sharing of antimicrobial substance through trophallaxis. We set out to determine whether differences in genetic diversity between colonies of the subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, accounts for colony survival against pathogens. We sampled colonies throughout the United States (Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, and Massachuset

SUBMITTER: Aguero CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8019025 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature