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Date: | Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:50:33 EDT |
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In a message dated 21/07/2009 18:35:37 GMT Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Trans-generational effects on immunity are well known from
vertebrates, but their existence in invertebrates remains
controversial.
I'm totally unqualified in this field (to get my disclaimer in early!) but
am happy to display my ignorance for other to shoot down.
It is well known that immunity in mammals can be passed down via the
mammary glands (and probably also via the placenta) and I would guess that this
applies to all 'germs' to which the female parent has been non-fatally
exposed.
I would like an explanation as to the mechanism by which creatures
delivered without benefit of placenta or mammary can receive immunity from their
parents. Thinking as I type (or maybe a very short time before!) I
speculate that non-fatal viruses (viri?) might invade and bond with the DNA of the
parent and thus become part of the imago and not part of the problem; but
what about bacteria?
Darwin would have said (maybe) that susceptible would-be parents don't
actually get to become parents because early death or unfitness take them out
of the race and the winners' DNA take all onto the next generation.
In honeybees, the part of the genome devoted to immunity is reported to be
small when compared to the limited range of other insects studied. Thus
I would suspect that a higher proportion of immunity would be behavioural
and environmental rather that genetically conferred. I am thinking of
hygienic behaviour, good nutrition via a broad range of nectar, and, (especially)
pollens and the availability of and inclination to collect propolis from a
variety of sources.
In olden times propolis was looked upon as a nuisance and beekeepers and
breeders selected in favour of those stocks less inclined to collect it. I
wonder whether, several generations down the line, we are now reaping what
we sowed?
Chris.
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