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Robustness of the outcome of adult bumblebee infection with a trypanosome parasite after varied parasite exposures during larval development
Author(s) -
CISAROVSKY G.,
SCHMIDHEMPEL P.,
SADD B. M.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2012.02507.x
Subject(s) - biology , bumblebee , bombus terrestris , abiotic component , parasite hosting , ecology , larva , zoology , genotype , host (biology) , genetics , gene , pollen , pollinator , pollination , world wide web , computer science
The outcome of defence by the invertebrate immunity has recently been shown to be more complex than previously thought. In particular, the outcome is affected by biotic and abiotic environmental variation, host genotype, parasite genotype and their interaction. Knowledge of conditions under which environmental variation affects the outcome of an infection is one important question that relates to this complexity. We here use the model system of the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris , infected by the trypanosome, Crithidia bombi , combined with a split‐colony design to test the influence of the parasite environment during larval rearing on adult resistance. We find that genotype‐specific interactions are maintained and adult resistance is not influenced. This demonstrates that environmental dependence of bumblebee–trypanosome interactions is not ubiquitous, and yet unknown constraints will maintain standard coevolutionary dynamics under such environmental deviations.