Role of Juvenile hormone in mediating trade-offs between immunity and reproduction
Authors: Vanika Gupta; Brian Lazzaro
Affiliation: Cornell University
Keywords: k. host/pathogen interactions; p. physiology
Immunity and reproduction are processes that reciprocally limit each other in a wide diversity of organisms. Mating stimulates the production of juvenile hormone (JH) by Drosophila melanogaster females, and JH is immunosuppressive. Thus, D. melanogaster females suffer reduced immunocompetence as a consequence of mating. JH additionally promotes fecundity and also plays a vital part in nutrient mobilisation in insects. The D. melanogaster genome encodes two JH receptors, germ cell expressed (gce) and methoprene-tolerant (met), which have different expression patterns and distinct functions. Previous reports indicate that met regulates fecundity while gce controls post-mating immunosuppression. Using tissue-specific knockdown of the two receptors gce and met, we further define the role of these receptors in determining the interaction between reproduction and immunity as mediated by the immunosuppressive properties of JH.