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Host Plant Chemistry and Infection Status Alters the Immune Response and Development Time in Vanessa cardui
Date
2018Type
ThesisDepartment
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Degree Level
Honors Thesis
Degree Name
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Abstract
Studies investigating the interplay between the animal immune response and life history
traits fall under the umbrella of ecoimmunology. An important goal of ecoimmunology is
to understand the tritrophic interactions influencing insect immunity and survival. This
study focuses on the effects of diet and pathogen infection on the immune response of the
polyphagous butterfly, Vanessa cardui (Nymphalidae). Specifically, this study aims to
understand the life history tradeoffs V. cardui experiences when fighting pathogens and
whether these tradeoffs are diet dependent. I hypothesized that V. cardui larvae infected
with the entomopathic virus, Junonia coenia densovirus (JcDNV), would have two
avenues for surviving the virus: invest in development or mount an immune response. I
demonstrate that the ability to invest in one or the other is dependent on diet and infection
status. I found that V. cardui reared on plant diets responded to the JcDNV infection by
developing quicker than uninfected individuals. Infected individuals also had a lower
immune response compared to the uninfected group. However, when larvae were reared
on a more nutrient rich diet (artificial diets) there was no effect of virus infection on
development time, suggesting that the impact of the virus on development time is nutrient
related. I also found that other dietary factors (iridoid glycosides found in the novel host
plant Plantago lanceolata) can provide additional protections (faster development and
higher immunocompetence) compared to the native host plants Lupinus argenteus and
Lupinus albifrons. Therefore, I suggest that diet impacts the effects of JcDNV and
influences the course of action caterpillars take when infected with the virus. Overall, I
found that viral infection and diet simultaneously impact the lepidopteran immune
response and influence the life history tradeoffs in V. cardui.
Permanent link
http://hdl.handle.net/11714/3515Additional Information
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