Do heritable immune responses extend physiological individuality?

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Philosophy of Biology
• Developmental Biology

Background:

• The immune system is traditionally viewed as defining biological individuality within a single generation.
• Immune responses delineate the organism from its environment, establishing the physiological individual.
• Previous understanding limited immunological individuality to a single generation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the consequences of transgenerationally persisting immune responses for physiological individuality.
• To introduce an RNA-based invertebrate immune system with a heritable silencing/licensing paradigm.
• To propose a new conception of immunological individuality that transcends single generations.

Main Methods:

• Examination of an invertebrate immune system.
• Analysis of an RNA-based heritable silencing/licensing paradigm.
• Philosophical and biological discussion of individuality.

Main Results:

• Identification of an RNA-based immune system in invertebrates.
• Demonstration of a heritable silencing/licensing mechanism in immune responses.
• Evidence for immune responses persisting across generations.

Conclusions:

• Immune systems can operate via heritable silencing/licensing, extending across generations.
• This challenges the traditional view of immunological individuality being confined to one generation.
• A broader conception of immunological individuality, not restricted to a single generation, is proposed.