Novikov Eugene, Petrovski Dmitry, Mak Viktoria, Kondratuk Ekaterina, Krivopalov Anton, Moshkin Mikhail
Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals SB RAS, 630091, Frunze street, 11, Novosibirsk, Russia.
Novosibirsk State Agrarian University, 630039, Dobrolubova street, 160, Novosibirsk, Russia.
Parasitol Res. 2016 Aug;115(8):2925-32. doi: 10.1007/s00436-016-5042-1. Epub 2016 Apr 15.
Restricted mobility and spatial isolation of social units in gregarious subterranean mammals ensure good defence mechanisms against parasites, which in turn allows for a reduction of immunity components. In contrast, a parasite invasion may cause an increased adaptive immune response. Therefore, it can be expected that spatial and temporal distribution of parasites within a population will correlate with the local variability in the host's immunocompetence. To test this hypothesis, the intra-population variability of a whipworm infestation and the humoral immune response to non-replicated antigens in mole voles (Ellobius talpinus Pall.), social subterranean rodents, was estimated. Whipworm prevalence in mole voles increased from spring to autumn, and this tendency was more pronounced in settlements living in natural meadows compared to settlements in man-made meadows. However, humoral immune response was lowest in animals from natural meadows trapped in autumn. Since whipworm infestation does not directly affect the immunity of mole voles, the reciprocal tendencies in seasonal dynamics and spatial distribution of whipworm abundance and host immunocompetence may be explained by local deterioration of habitat conditions, which increases the probability of an infestation.
群居地下哺乳动物的社会单位行动受限和空间隔离确保了抵御寄生虫的良好防御机制，这反过来又能减少免疫成分。相比之下，寄生虫入侵可能会导致适应性免疫反应增强。因此，可以预期种群内寄生虫的时空分布将与宿主免疫能力的局部变异性相关。为了验证这一假设，我们估计了群居地下啮齿动物鼹形田鼠（Ellobius talpinus Pall.）体内鞭虫感染的种群内变异性以及对非复制抗原的体液免疫反应。鼹形田鼠体内鞭虫的感染率从春季到秋季有所增加，与生活在人工草地的种群相比，这种趋势在生活在天然草地的种群中更为明显。然而，秋季捕获的来自天然草地的动物的体液免疫反应最低。由于鞭虫感染不会直接影响鼹形田鼠的免疫力，鞭虫丰度和宿主免疫能力的季节动态和空间分布的相反趋势可能是由栖息地条件的局部恶化所解释的，这增加了感染的可能性。
