Abstract
Although it is generally recognized that immunity is costly, not much is known about how these costs are dis- tributed among different compartments of the immune sys- tem. Using lines of Drosophila melanogaster that differed in their antibacterial innate immune response due to differ- ences in the functional transcription factor Relish, we set out to investigate the condition-dependent effects of immuno- logical maintenance on mating success. We found that when the flies were raised under poor nutritional conditions as lar- vae, and provided that among wild-type flies being large was costly in terms of reduced mating success, immunodeficient mutant flies that have to invest less in the maintenance of the Imd signalling pathway achieved a higher mating success compared with wild-type flies. The results indicate a trade- off between immunological maintenance and traits associ- ated with male mating success, and highlight the importance of early-life environment in determining adult performance.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
