斑马的免疫功能和性吸引力的胡卜素调节
Jonathan D Blount1, Neil B Metcalfe, Tim R Birkhead
1Division of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK. j.blount@bio.gla.ac.uk
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|April 5, 2003
概括
饮食中的胡卜素会影响雄性斑马的吸引力和免疫功能. 操纵胡卜素摄入量改变了性表现和细胞介导免疫力,支持色素可用性和男性质量之间的联系.
科学领域:
- 动物行为 动物行为
- 进化生物学是进化的生物学.
- 生理生态生态学生理生态学
背景情况:
- 女的伴侣选择往往有利于装饰的男性.
- 胡卜素被假设限制了装饰表达和免疫功能.
- 目前尚不清楚胡卜素水平是否直接影响免疫能力和吸引力.
研究的目的:
- 为了测试饮食中的胡卜素供应是否会影响雄性斑马的免疫功能和性吸引力.
- 为了确定胡卜素水平是否调解免疫投资和显示之间的权衡.
主要方法:
- 雄性斑马青被食不同水平的胡卜素.
- 评估了细胞介导免疫功能.
- 性吸引力通过女性偏好测试来衡量.
主要成果:
- 饮食中胡卜素含量较高的男性表现出增强的细胞介导免疫功能.
- 这些雄性对女性来说也更有吸引力.
- 饮食中的胡卜素操纵导致了免疫力和吸引力的并行变化.
结论:
- 胡卜素的可用性是免疫功能和雄性斑马的性吸引力之间的关键因素.
- 这支持了一个假设,即精心设计的装饰品是由于资源限制而导致潜在的健康和免疫能力的信号.
相关概念视频
02:39Predator-Prey Interactions
Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.Although predation is commonly associated with carnivory, for...
01:25Selectins
Cell adhesion is an essential aspect of multicellularity. While stable cell interactions usually occur between cells of the same type, transient cell interactions occur between cells of different tissue types, such as between neutrophils and endothelial cells. Selectins are one class of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) that bind carbohydrate ligands to form transient cell adhesion. They are rod-like proteins with a long extracellular part of variable length ending with the lectin domain, which...