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. 2019 Jul 3;14(7):e0219000.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219000. eCollection 2019.

Red Queen revisited: Immune gene diversity and parasite load in the asexual Poecilia formosa versus its sexual host species P. mexicana

Fabian Gösser  1 , Manfred Schartl  2   3 , Francisco J García-De León  4 , Ralph Tollrian  1 , Kathrin P Lampert  1
Affiliations

Red Queen revisited: Immune gene diversity and parasite load in the asexual Poecilia formosa versus its sexual host species P. mexicana

Fabian Gösser et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

In accordance with the Red Queen hypothesis, the lower genotypic diversity in clonally reproducing species should make them easier targets for pathogen infection, especially when closely related sexually reproducing species occur in close proximity. We analyzed two populations of clonal P. formosa and their sexual parental species P. mexicana by correlating individual parasite infection with overall and immune genotype. Our study revealed lower levels of overall genotypic diversity and marginally fewer MHC class I alleles in P. formosa individuals compared to sexually reproducing P. mexicana. Parasite load, however, differed only between field sites but not between species. We hypothesize that this might be due to slightly higher genotypic diversity in P. formosa at the innate immune system (toll like receptor 8) which is likely due to the species' hybrid origin. In consequence, it appears that clonal individuals do not necessarily suffer a disadvantage compared to sexual individuals when fighting parasite infection.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Number of parasites for diploid (2n) P. formosa, triploid P. formosa (3n) and P. mexicana of the Río Guayalejo (G) and the Río Purificación (P) field sites.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Median number of MHC I alleles for diploid (2n) and triploid (3n) P. formosa and P. mexicana for both sample locations (G—Rio Guayalejo, P–RioPurificacion).
Box plots show median plus upper and lower quartile and minimum and maximum values.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Immune gene allele and genotype frequencies in all field sites.
A) MHC alleles in all locations, species and ploidy levels. B) MHC genotypes in all locations, species and ploidy levels. C) TLR 8 alleles in all locations, species and ploidy levels. D) TLR8 genotypes in all locations, species and ploidy levels. (Pmex–Poecilia mexicana, 2n –diploid, 3n –triploid).
Fig 4
Fig 4. TLR8 genotypes and the corresponding MHC class I genotypes of P. formosa (blue) and P. mexicana (red).
To facilitate the differentiation of alleles within species different shades of color are used.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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