Publication

Antagonistic Coevolution Limits the Range of Host Defense in C. elegans Populations

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Last modified
  • 06/25/2025
Type of Material
Authors
    Jordan A. Lewis, Emory UniversityMcKenna J. Penley, Emory UniversityHannan Sylla, Emory UniversitySebastian Duran Ahumada, Emory UniversityLevi T. Morran, Emory University
Language
  • English
Date
  • 2022-02-16
Publisher
  • Frontiers
Publication Version
Copyright Statement
  • © 2022 Lewis, Penley, Sylla, Ahumada and Morran.
License
Final Published Version (URL)
Title of Journal or Parent Work
Volume
  • 12
Start Page
  • 758745
Grant/Funding Information
  • This work was funded by the National Science Foundation (Graduate Research Fellowship Program 2017246734 to JL and DEB-1750553 to LM).
Supplemental Material (URL)
Abstract
  • Host populations often evolve defenses against parasites due to the significant fitness costs imposed by infection. However, adaptation to a specific parasite may alter the effectiveness of the host’s defenses in general. Consequently, the specificity of host defense may be influenced by a host population’s evolutionary history with parasites. Further, the degree of reciprocal change within an interaction may profoundly alter the range of host defense, given that antagonistic coevolutionary interactions are predicted to favor defense against specific parasite genotypes. Here, we examined the effect of host evolutionary history on host defense range by assessing the mortality rates of Caenorhabditis elegans host populations exposed to an array of Serratia marcescens bacterial parasite strains. Importantly, each of the host populations were derived from the same genetic background but have different experimental evolution histories with parasites. Each of these histories (exposure to either heat-killed, fixed genotype, or coevolving parasites) carries a different level of evolutionary reciprocity. Overall, we observed an effect of host evolutionary history in that previously coevolved host populations were generally the most susceptible to novel parasite strains. This data demonstrates that host evolutionary history can have a significant impact on host defense, and that host-parasite coevolution can increase host susceptibility to novel parasites.
Author Notes
Keywords
Research Categories
  • Biology, Parasitology
  • Health Sciences, Immunology

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