Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 277, Issue 1680, Pages 391-398Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1501
Keywords
major histocompatibility complex; mating decision; olfaction; stickleback
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Olfactory information about individual major histocompatibility complex (MHC) immune genotypes is important for mate choice in several species. For example, during the mate choice decisions of three-spined sticklebacks, females assess males on the basis of odour cues that convey information about their MHC diversity. Here, we show that an additional 'maleness' signal is needed to validate the MHC signal. Furthermore, using interaction between natural odour of sticklebacks and synthetic MHC-ligand peptides, we show that MHC signals are conditional on the reproductive state in males. By contrast, we find that gravid females do not produce such signals. Since MHC olfactory signals relevant to mate choice decisions are conditional upon gender and reproductive state, we suggest that their manufacture is likely to be costly to senders, and therefore, potentially conditional on the health/parasitization status of the sender. We hypothesize that shedding of peptide-MHC complexes compromises immune function, selecting against unconditional use of these signals.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available