Sex differences in immune gene expression in the brain of a small shorebird

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: José O Valdebenito, University of Bath; Kathryn H Maher, University of Bath; Gregely Zachar, Semmelweis University; Qin Huang, Sun Yat Sen University; Zhengwang Zhang, Beijing Normal University; Larry Young, Emory University; Tamás Szekely, University of Bath; Pinjia Que, Beijing Normal University; Yang Liu, Sun Yat Sen University; Araxi O Urrutia, University of Bath
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-01-27
• Publisher: SPRINGER
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2022
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00251-022-01253-w
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: IMMUNOGENETICS
• Grant/Funding Information: Funding was provided by the Chilean National Agency for Research and Development (ANID, former CONICYT), BECAS CHILE 72170569 to JOV. KHM was supported by a NERC GW4 + studentship (NE/L002434/1) and a Korner Travelling Award. KHM, ZZ, YL, and AOU were supported by a British Council and Chinese Scholarship Council Newton Fund PhD Placement. The National Natural Science Foundation of China funded PQ and ZZ (No.31572288) and NKFIH-OTKA K116538 research grant to GZ and TS. GZ was also funded by the National Research Development and Innovation Office of Hungary (FK131966). The Raymond F. Schinazi International Exchange Program supported AOU, LJY, and TS. TS was also funded by the Royal Society (Wolfson Merit Award WM170050, APEX APX\R1\191045) and by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office of Hungary (ÉLVONAL KKP-126949, K-116310). Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship (DH071902) and CONACyT Frontiers in Science grant (CF 2019-682142) funded AOU.
• Keywords: Brain; Mating system; MODEL; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; MEMORY; POPULATION; RNA-seq; RATIO; Sex-biased gene expression; Science & Technology; MICROGLIA; Genetics & Heredity; Avian immunity; ALIGNMENT; Immunology; TRANSCRIPTOME; RESPONSES
• Research Categories: Biology, Anatomy; Chemistry, Biochemistry; Biology, Ecology

Abstract

Males and females often exhibit differences in behaviour, life histories, and ecology, many of which are typically reflected in their brains. Neuronal protection and maintenance include complex processes led by the microglia, which also interacts with metabolites such as hormones or immune components. Despite increasing interest in sex-specific brain function in laboratory animals, the significance of sex-specific immune activation in the brain of wild animals along with the variables that could affect it is widely lacking. Here, we use the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) to study sex differences in expression of immune genes in the brain of adult males and females, in two wild populations breeding in contrasting habitats: a coastal sea-level population and a high-altitude inland population in China. Our analysis yielded 379 genes associated with immune function. We show a significant male-biased immune gene upregulation. Immune gene expression in the brain did not differ in upregulation between the coastal and inland populations. We discuss the role of dosage compensation in our findings and their evolutionary significance mediated by sex-specific survival and neuronal deterioration. Similar expression profiles in the coastal and inland populations suggest comparable genetic control by the microglia and possible similarities in pathogen pressures between habitats. We call for further studies on gene expression of males and females in wild population to understand the implications of immune function for life-histories and demography in natural systems.