DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Nutrient-mediated Manipulation of Host Feeding Behavior by a Parasitoid

论文研究：拟寄生物对宿主摄食行为的营养介导操纵

• 批准号: 1501538
• 负责人: Michael Singer
• 金额: $ 1.85万
• 依托单位: Wesleyan University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-08-01 至 2018-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1501538&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Nutrient; mediated; Manipulation

This project investigates how an animal's nutrient intake affects its interaction with its parasites. Using an experimentally tractable model system of a caterpillar and its parasitic wasp, Dr. Singer and Ms. Bernardo will conduct experiments designed to reveal how the parasitic wasp benefits by manipulating its host caterpillar's highly regulated nutrient intake. The basic scientific value of this research stems from integrating the perspectives of animal nutrition, immunology, and behavioral ecology, while also contributing to scientific knowledge used in pest control in agriculture and forestry. Public outreach impacts will happen through Elementary Schools in Middlesex County, CT, and Ms. Bernardo's position as vice-president of the Connecticut Entomological Society. The school program will highlight the natural history of insects kept in the lab, while the CT Entomological Society program will organize outreach activities for Connecticut residents of all ages and provide opportunities for other students to share their research with the community at an annual Student Symposium.Parasitoids must battle host defenses and alter the behavior and physiology of their hosts to their own benefit. Parasitoid manipulation of host nutrient intake might be a fundamental component of such interactions, yet it has received limited study in the broader field of host-parasite interactions. This research will test alternative functional hypotheses that could explain manipulation of caterpillar host feeding behavior by a parasitoid wasp. Preliminary evidence from this host-parasitoid interaction suggests that host caterpillars exhibit altered nutrient intake when parasitized by the parasitoid wasp, and this change in host feeding behavior benefits the parasitoid. Hypothetically, altering dietary nutrients of the host can have large effects on parasitoid growth performance and host immune function. Consequently, parasitoids could manipulate host nutrient intake so as to maximize the nutrient supply to host tissues eaten by the parasitoid, or to limit nutrients required for maximal host immune function. The researchers propose to manipulate macronutrient ratios in host diets and use techniques employed in the field of ecoimmunology and insect physiology to evaluate these hypothetical mechanisms of nutrient-mediated host manipulation, and their possible interaction. Data from this project will be stored at Wesleyan University and made accessible as published.

该项目研究了动物的营养摄入如何影响其与寄生虫的相互作用。 Singer博士和Bernardo女士将使用毛毛虫及其寄生虫黄蜂的实验可处理模型系统进行实验，旨在通过操纵其宿主毛毛虫高度调节的营养摄入量来揭示寄生虫的益处。 这项研究的基本科学价值源于整合动物营养，免疫学和行为生态学的观点，同时也促进了农业和林业中的害虫控制中使用的科学知识。公众推广影响将通过康涅狄格州米德尔塞克斯县的小学以及伯纳多女士担任康涅狄格州昆虫学学会副主席的地位。 该学校计划将强调实验室中保存的昆虫的自然历史，而CT昆虫学协会计划将为各个年龄段的康涅狄格州居民组织外展活动，并为其他学生提供与社区分享他们的研究的机会。寄生虫必须在年度的学生研讨会上与宿主防御和自身受益的宿主的行为和物理学作斗争。 对宿主营养摄入的寄生型操纵可能是这种相互作用的基本组成部分，但在宿主 - 寄生虫相互作用的更广泛领域中，它已获得有限的研究。这项研究将测试可以解释寄生虫黄蜂对毛毛虫宿主喂养行为操纵的替代功能假设。 这种宿主寄生虫相互作用的初步证据表明，当寄生虫黄蜂寄生时，宿主毛毛虫表现出改变的营养摄入，并且这种宿主喂养行为的这种变化使寄生虫受益。 假设改变宿主的饮食营养物质会对寄生生长性能和宿主免疫功能产生巨大影响。 因此，寄生虫可以操纵宿主的营养摄入量，从而最大程度地提高寄生虫食用的宿主组织的营养供应，或限制最大宿主免疫功能所需的营养。 研究人员建议在生态免疫学和昆虫生理学领域采用的宿主饮食中的大量营养比率，以评估营养介导的宿主操纵的这些假设机制及其可能的相互作用。该项目的数据将存储在卫斯理大学，并可以随着发布而访问。