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Research Article
José O. Valdebenito
University of Bath
Corresponding Author
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Background: Males and females often exhibit different behaviour, life histories and ecology, and sex differences are typically reflected in their brains. Neuronal protection and maintenance include complex processes led by the microglia that also interact with metabolites such as hormones or immune components. Despite increasing interest in sex-specific brain activation in laboratory animals, the crucial significance of immune function protecting in the brain of wildlife is widely lacking. Here, we study sex-specific expression of immune genes in the brain of a small shorebird, the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), that is an emerging model of mating system evolution and speciation. We compare immune gene expression patterns between adult males and adult females in two wild breeding populations in contrasting habitats: a coastal sea-level population and a high-altitude inland population in China.
Results: Our analysis yielded 379 genes associated with immune function. We show a significant male-biased immune gene upregulation, which is in line with ecological studies that showed higher survival in males than in females. Immune gene expression in the brain did not differ in upregulation between the coastal and inland populations.
Conclusions: 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 pathogen pressures between the habitats. We call for further studies on gene expressions of males and females in wild population to understand the implications of immune function for life-histories and demography in natural systems.
Keywords
sex-biased gene expression, avian immunity, RNA-seq, brain, mating system
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Figure 2
No competing interests reported.
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
- ValdebenitoSupplementarymaterialBMC.docx
Additional file 1. This file contains additional figures and tables. Figure S1 shows differential expression of sex-biased immune genes in Kentish plover according site; Figure S2 shows sample pictures of the two environments studied in this work; Figure S3 depicts a principal components analysis of four brain regions in Kentish plover. Table S1 shows differential gene expression of 379 immune genes according to (a) sex, (b) habitat and (c) their interaction in brain tissue of Kentish plover. In Table S2 and Table S3 are listed all differentially expressed immune genes, their chromosomal location and their GO biological function.
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This is a preprint, a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Research Article
José O. Valdebenito
University of Bath
Corresponding Author
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
History
CURRENT STATUS: Posted
Version 1
Posted 25 May, 2021
No community comments so far
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Epigenetics & Genomics
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: Males and females often exhibit different behaviour, life histories and ecology, and sex differences are typically reflected in their brains. Neuronal protection and maintenance include complex processes led by the microglia that also interact with metabolites such as hormones or immune components. Despite increasing interest in sex-specific brain activation in laboratory animals, the crucial significance of immune function protecting in the brain of wildlife is widely lacking. Here, we study sex-specific expression of immune genes in the brain of a small shorebird, the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), that is an emerging model of mating system evolution and speciation. We compare immune gene expression patterns between adult males and adult females in two wild breeding populations in contrasting habitats: a coastal sea-level population and a high-altitude inland population in China.
Results: Our analysis yielded 379 genes associated with immune function. We show a significant male-biased immune gene upregulation, which is in line with ecological studies that showed higher survival in males than in females. Immune gene expression in the brain did not differ in upregulation between the coastal and inland populations.
Conclusions: 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 pathogen pressures between the habitats. We call for further studies on gene expressions of males and females in wild population to understand the implications of immune function for life-histories and demography in natural systems.
Figure 1
Figure 2
No competing interests reported.
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
- ValdebenitoSupplementarymaterialBMC.docx
Additional file 1. This file contains additional figures and tables. Figure S1 shows differential expression of sex-biased immune genes in Kentish plover according site; Figure S2 shows sample pictures of the two environments studied in this work; Figure S3 depicts a principal components analysis of four brain regions in Kentish plover. Table S1 shows differential gene expression of 379 immune genes according to (a) sex, (b) habitat and (c) their interaction in brain tissue of Kentish plover. In Table S2 and Table S3 are listed all differentially expressed immune genes, their chromosomal location and their GO biological function.
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