title: Ecological immunogenetics of life-history traits in a model amphibian.
abstract: Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes determine immune repertoires and social preferences of vertebrates. Immunological regulation of microbial assemblages associated with individuals influences their sociality, and should also affect their life-history traits. We exposed Xenopus laevis tadpoles to water conditioned by adult conspecifics. Then, we analysed tadpole growth, development and survivorship as a function of MHC class I and class II peptide-binding region amino acid sequence similarities between tadpoles and frogs that conditioned the water to which they were exposed. Tadpoles approached metamorphosis earlier and suffered greater mortality when exposed to immunogenetically dissimilar frogs. The results suggest that developmental regulatory cues, microbial assemblages or both are specific to MHC genotypes. Tadpoles may associate with conspecifics with which they share microbiota to which their genotypes are well adapted.
authors: Experimental Ecology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich 8092, Switzerland.
authors: Seth M
authors: SM
authors: Barribeau
authors: Jandouwe
authors: J
authors: Villinger
authors: Bruce
authors: B
authors: Waldman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003463:Cues; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D056084:Genetic Fitness; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D007814:Larva / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex; D008675:Metamorphosis, Biological; D009026:Mortality; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology