title: Is more better? Polyploidy and parasite resistance.
abstract: Ploidy-level variation is common and can drastically affect organismal fitness. We focus on the potential consequences of this variation for parasite resistance. First, we elucidate connections between ploidy variation and key factors determining resistance, including allelic diversity, gene expression and physiological condition. We then argue that systems featuring both natural and artificially manipulated ploidy variation should be used to evaluate whether ploidy level influences host-parasite interactions.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK. k.king@liverpool.ac.uk
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Seppälä
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neiman
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005399:Fishes / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006579:Heterozygote; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D010125:Ostreidae / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D010271:Parasites / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D011123:Polyploidy; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology