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Long-term maternal effect on offspring immune response in song sparrows Melospiza melodia

Reid, Jane M. ; Arcese, Peter ; Keller, Lukas F. and Hasselquist, Dennis LU (2006) In Biology letters 2(4). p.573-576
Abstract
Knowledge of the causes of variation in host immunity to parasitic infection and the time-scales over which variation persists, is integral to predicting the evolutionary and epidemiological consequences of host-parasite interactions. It is clear that offspring immunity can be influenced by parental immune experience, for example, reflecting transfer of antibodies from mothers to young offspring. However, it is less clear whether such parental effects persist or have functional consequences over longer time-scales, linking a parent's previous immune experience to future immune responsiveness in fully grown offspring. We used free-living song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) to quantify long-term effects of parental immune experience on... (More)
Knowledge of the causes of variation in host immunity to parasitic infection and the time-scales over which variation persists, is integral to predicting the evolutionary and epidemiological consequences of host-parasite interactions. It is clear that offspring immunity can be influenced by parental immune experience, for example, reflecting transfer of antibodies from mothers to young offspring. However, it is less clear whether such parental effects persist or have functional consequences over longer time-scales, linking a parent's previous immune experience to future immune responsiveness in fully grown offspring. We used free-living song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) to quantify long-term effects of parental immune experience on offspring immune response. We experimentally vaccinated parents with a novel antigen and tested whether parental vaccination influenced the humoral antibody response mounted by fully grown offspring hatched the following year. Parental vaccination did not influence offspring baseline antibody titres. However, offspring of vaccinated mothers mounted substantially stronger antibody responses than offspring of unvaccinated mothers. Antibody responses did not differ between offspring of vaccinated and unvaccinated fathers. These data demonstrate substantial long-term effects of maternal immune experience on the humoral immune response of fully grown offspring in free-living birds. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
selection, immunocompetence, indirect environmental effect, tetanus vaccine, parasite-mediated
in
Biology letters
volume
2
issue
4
pages
573 - 576
publisher
Royal Society Publishing
external identifiers
  • wos:000242686500025
  • scopus:33845586497
ISSN
1744-9561
DOI
10.1098/rsbl.2006.0544
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2cc95f69-af23-4ac7-a397-01ef238dad78 (old id 683511)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:35:02
date last changed
2022-04-05 02:02:28
@article{2cc95f69-af23-4ac7-a397-01ef238dad78,
  abstract     = {{Knowledge of the causes of variation in host immunity to parasitic infection and the time-scales over which variation persists, is integral to predicting the evolutionary and epidemiological consequences of host-parasite interactions. It is clear that offspring immunity can be influenced by parental immune experience, for example, reflecting transfer of antibodies from mothers to young offspring. However, it is less clear whether such parental effects persist or have functional consequences over longer time-scales, linking a parent's previous immune experience to future immune responsiveness in fully grown offspring. We used free-living song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) to quantify long-term effects of parental immune experience on offspring immune response. We experimentally vaccinated parents with a novel antigen and tested whether parental vaccination influenced the humoral antibody response mounted by fully grown offspring hatched the following year. Parental vaccination did not influence offspring baseline antibody titres. However, offspring of vaccinated mothers mounted substantially stronger antibody responses than offspring of unvaccinated mothers. Antibody responses did not differ between offspring of vaccinated and unvaccinated fathers. These data demonstrate substantial long-term effects of maternal immune experience on the humoral immune response of fully grown offspring in free-living birds.}},
  author       = {{Reid, Jane M. and Arcese, Peter and Keller, Lukas F. and Hasselquist, Dennis}},
  issn         = {{1744-9561}},
  keywords     = {{selection; immunocompetence; indirect environmental effect; tetanus vaccine; parasite-mediated}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{573--576}},
  publisher    = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
  series       = {{Biology letters}},
  title        = {{Long-term maternal effect on offspring immune response in song sparrows Melospiza melodia}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2006.0544}},
  doi          = {{10.1098/rsbl.2006.0544}},
  volume       = {{2}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}