title: Why spawning salmon return to their natal stream: the immunological imprinting hypothesis.
abstract: The immune system of salmonids is remarkably similar to that of mammals, including the presence of B and T lymphocytes and a highly diverse antibody repertoire. However, fish lack bone marrow. Instead, development of immune cells takes place in the anterior kidney, which also houses long-lived, immunoglobulin-secreting plasma cells (LLPCs). These LLPCs should protect adult salmon against pathogens that are encountered upon return to their natal grounds for spawning. Here I present a hypothesis which links immune memory in the form of LLPCs to chemical imprinting and the highly accurate return rates of adults to their natal streams.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23185, United States. pxzwol@wm.edu
authors.forename: Patty
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zwollo
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D060226:Head Kidney / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D010950:Plasma Cells / Q000276:immunology; D045483:Rivers; D012474:Salmon / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology*