Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 339, Issue 6122, Pages 947-950Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1229625
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- NIH [AI081879]
- Integrated Cellular Imaging Microscopy Core of the Emory Neuroscience NINDS Core Facilities [P30NS055077]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Hosts have numerous defenses against parasites, of which behavioral immune responses are an important but underappreciated component. Here we describe a behavioral immune response that Drosophila melanogaster uses against endoparasitoid wasps. We found that when flies see wasps, they switch to laying eggs in alcohol-laden food sources that protect hatched larvae from infection. This change in oviposition behavior, mediated by neuropeptide F, is retained long after wasps are removed. Flies respond to diverse female larval endoparasitoids but not to males or pupal endoparasitoids, showing that they maintain specific wasp search images. Furthermore, the response evolved multiple times across the genus Drosophila. Our data reveal a behavioral immune response based on anticipatory medication of offspring and outline a nonassociative memory paradigm based on innate parasite recognition by the host.
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