title: Phenoloxidase but not lytic activity reflects resistance against Pasteuria ramosa in Daphnia magna.
abstract: The field of ecological immunology strongly relies on indicators of immunocompetence. Two major indicators in invertebrates, the activity of phenoloxidase (PO) and lytic activity have recently been questioned in studies showing that, across a natural range of baseline levels, these indicators did not predict resistance against a manipulated challenge with natural parasites. We confirmed this finding by showing that baseline levels of PO and lytic activity in the host Daphnia magna were not related to spore load of the parasite Pasteuria ramosa. Yet, PO levels in infected hosts did predict spore load, indicating PO activity can be useful as an indicator of immunocompetence in this model parasite-host system.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, K.U. Leuven, Charles Deberiotstraat 32, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. kevin.pauwels@bio.kuleuven.be
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pauwels
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Meester
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Decaestecker
authors.forename: Robby
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stoks
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003621:Daphnia / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000276:immunology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000276:immunology; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism*; D058676:Pasteuria / Q000502:physiology*; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase
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