Between-population differences in constitutive and infection-induced gene expression in threespine stickleback.

ABSTRACT: Vertebrate immunity is a complex system consisting of a mix of constitutive and inducible defences. Furthermore, host immunity is subject to selective pressure from a range of parasites and pathogens which can produce variation in these defences across populations. As populations evolve immune responses to parasites, they may adapt via a combination of (1) constitutive differences, (2) shared inducible responses, or (3) divergent inducible responses. Here, we leverage a powerful natural host-parasite model system (Gasterosteus aculeatus and Schistochephalus solidus) to tease apart the relative contributions of these three types of adaptations to among-population divergence in response to parasites. Gene expression analyses revealed limited evidence of significant divergence in constitutive

SUBMITTER: Fuess LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8796319 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature