Pathogen- and diet-dependent foraging, nutritional and immune ecology in mealworms

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dc.contributor.authorCatalan, Tamara P.
dc.contributor.authorBarcelo, Matias
dc.contributor.authorNiemeyer, Hermann M.
dc.contributor.authorKalergis, Alexis M.
dc.contributor.authorBozinovic, Francisco
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-20T23:57:45Z
dc.date.available2025-01-20T23:57:45Z
dc.date.issued2011
dc.description.abstractBackground: Feeding habits and dietary nutritional content may play a key role in pathogen-dependent foraging ecology, because mounting an effective immune response is costly for the host.
dc.description.abstractHypothesis: Since immune defence is the final line of protection against infective aggression, an adequate provision of dietary macromolecules through a selective foraging behaviour is required to maintain immunocompetence in infected hosts.
dc.description.abstractGoal: We studied dietary switching and its consequences on immune response performance after an immune challenge using mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) as a model host.
dc.description.abstractMethods: We evaluated diet selection and body mass balance (proxy of fitness) of larvae following a lipopolysaccharide challenge under three experimental nutritional treatments: an isocaloric low-protein/high-carbohydrate or high-protein/low-carbohydrate diet offered either independently (no-choice experiment) or simultaneously (dual-choice experiment). Furthermore, we studied the effect of diet composition on three immune traits: antibacterial activity, phenoloxidase activity, and total haemocyte count.
dc.description.abstractResults: Immune-challenged larvae ate almost five times more than did control larvae in the dual-choice experiment. In addition, 50.7% of total food intake by immune-challenged larvae corresponded to the high-protein/low-carbohydrate diet, significantly higher than challenged or unchallenged control larvae (3.7% and 2.3% respectively). However, no significant differences in body mass change were observed. In contrast, in the no-choice diet condition, immune-challenged larvae lost body mass compared with naive mealworms. Furthermore, we found that dietary protein had a positive effect on antibacterial activity and total haemocyte count but not phenoloxidase activity, and that mealworms feeding on a balanced diet did not have a better immune performance.
dc.description.abstractConclusions: The immune response activation triggers a compensatory shift in host foraging behaviour that is not necessarily associated with the prevailing physiological state, but can have considerable influence on Darwinian fitness.
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.eissn1937-3791
dc.identifier.issn1522-0613
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/95217
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:000305542200004
dc.issue.numero7
dc.language.isoen
dc.pagina.final723
dc.pagina.inicio711
dc.revistaEvolutionary ecology research
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectantibacterial activity
dc.subjectdietary nutrients
dc.subjectecoimmunology
dc.subjectfeeding
dc.subjecthaemocytes
dc.subjectphenoloxidase activity
dc.subjectTenebrio molitor
dc.subject.ods15 Life on Land
dc.subject.odspa15 Vida de ecosistemas terrestres
dc.titlePathogen- and diet-dependent foraging, nutritional and immune ecology in mealworms
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen13
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
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