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Surveillance for microbes and range expansion in house sparrows
Lynn B Martin1, Courtney A C Coon, Andrea L Liebl
1Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, , SCA 110, Tampa, FL 33620, USA, Department of Biology, Armstrong Atlantic State University, , Savannah, GA 31419, USA.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|November 22, 2013
Summary
House sparrows in Kenya show reduced inflammatory gene expression with population age, suggesting altered microbe surveillance aids invasion success. This study investigated the physiological mechanisms behind their spread.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Immunology
Background:
- Host-parasite interactions are crucial for successful species introductions and range expansions.
- Physiological mechanisms driving these outcomes, particularly in invasive species, remain poorly understood.
- Inflammation regulation variation has been suggested as a factor due to its high resource demands and potential for collateral damage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test if inflammatory gene expression variation contributed to the spread of invasive house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in Kenya.
- To investigate if inflammatory gene expression declines with population age (distance from introduction site).
- To identify factors, including population age, infection status, and density, that explain gene expression patterns.
Main Methods:
- Compared baseline and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs-2 and 4) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in six house sparrow populations across Kenya.
- Assessed gene expression before and after LPS injection to measure inflammatory response.
- Used best-subset model selection to evaluate the influence of population age (distance from Mombasa), infection, density, and genetic group on gene expression.
Main Results:
- Baseline expression of TLR-2 and TLR-4 tended to decrease with population age (distance from Mombasa), though other factors also played a role.
- Induced expression of TLRs was primarily influenced by LPS treatment.
- Induced IL-6 expression was reliably predicted by LPS treatment, while baseline IL-6 expression was not explained by any tested factor.
Conclusions:
- Changes in microbe surveillance gene expression, rather than downstream cytokine regulation, may be key to the house sparrow invasion success in Kenya.
- Population age appears to be a significant factor influencing baseline inflammatory gene expression in this invasive species.
- Further research into the immunophysiology of invasive species can illuminate mechanisms of range expansion.
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