title: Life history linked to immune investment in developing amphibians.
abstract: The broad diversity of amphibian developmental strategies has been shaped, in part, by pathogen pressure, yet trade-offs between the rate of larval development and immune investment remain poorly understood. The expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in skin secretions is a crucial defense against emerging amphibian pathogens and can also indirectly affect host defense by influencing the composition of skin microbiota. We examined the constitutive or induced expression of AMPs in 17 species at multiple life-history stages. We found that AMP defenses in tadpoles of species with short larval periods (fast pace of life) were reduced in comparison with species that overwinter as tadpoles and grow to a large size. A complete set of defensive peptides emerged soon after metamorphosis. These findings support the hypothesis that species with a slow pace of life invest energy in AMP production to resist potential pathogens encountered during the long larval period, whereas species with a fast pace of life trade this investment in defense for more rapid growth and development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology , University of Massachusetts Boston , 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125, USA.
authors.forename: Douglas C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Woodhams
authors.affiliation: College of Marine and Environmental Sciences , James Cook University , Townsville, QLD 4811 , Australia.
authors.forename: Sara C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry , University of Zürich , Winterthurerstrasse 190 , CH-8057 Zürich , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bigler
authors.affiliation: Mass Spectrometry Research Center and Department of Biochemistry , Vanderbilt University , Nashville, TN 37232-8575 , USA.
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Caprioli
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry , Université de Montréal , Montreal, QC , Canada H3T 1J4.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chaurand
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology , James Madison University , MSC 7801 , Harrisonburg, VA 22807 , USA.
authors.forename: Brianna A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology , Microbiology and Immunology , Vanderbilt University School of Medicine , Nashville, TN 37232-2363 , USA.
authors.forename: Laura K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Reinert
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry , University of Zürich , Winterthurerstrasse 190 , CH-8057 Zürich , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Urs
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Stalder
authors.affiliation: Plant Biology Department , University of Georgia , Athens, GA 30602 , USA.
authors.forename: Victoria M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Vazquez
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology , University of Massachusetts Boston , 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125, USA.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schliep
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology , University of Massachusetts Boston , 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125, USA.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hertz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232-2363, USA; Department of Biological Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235-1634, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232-2363, USA.
authors.forename: Louise A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Rollins-Smith
keywords: Antimicrobial peptides; MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry; disease ecology; innate immunity; life-history strategy; tadpoles