@article {6911, title = {The within-host dynamics of infection in trans-generationally primed flour beetles.}, journal = {Mol Ecol}, volume = {26}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Jul}, pages = {3794-3807}, abstract = {

Many taxa exhibit plastic immune responses initiated after primary microbial exposure that provide increased protection against disease-induced mortality and the fitness costs of infection. In several arthropod species, this protection can even be passed from parents to offspring through a phenomenon called trans-generational immune priming. Here, we first demonstrate that trans-generational priming is a repeatable phenomenon in flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum) primed and infected with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). We then quantify the within-host dynamics of microbes and host physiological responses in infected offspring from primed and unprimed mothers by monitoring bacterial density and using mRNA-seq to profile host gene expression, respectively, over the acute infection period. We find that priming increases inducible resistance against Bt around a critical temporal juncture where host septicaemic trajectories, and consequently survival, may be determined in unprimed individuals. Our results identify a highly differentially expressed biomarker of priming, containing an EIF4-e domain, in uninfected individuals, as well as several other candidate genes. Moreover, the induction and decay dynamics of gene expression over time suggest a metabolic shift in primed individuals. The identified bacterial and gene expression dynamics are likely to influence patterns of bacterial fitness and disease transmission in natural populations.

}, keywords = {Animals, Bacillus thuringiensis, Disease Resistance, Female, Transcriptome, Tribolium}, issn = {1365-294X}, doi = {10.1111/mec.14088}, author = {Tate, Ann T and Andolfatto, Peter and Demuth, Jeffery P and Graham, Andrea L} }