Abstract

Today I came across a curious study from the current issue of Nature. It is none too pithily titled “Inbred decorated crickets exhibit higher measures of macroparasitic immunity than outbred individuals” and, as the name suggests, it is about these delicate little critters:

The jerusalem cricket

The abstract informs us that:

Inbreeding is assumed to have negative effects on fitness, including the reduced ability to withstand immune challenges. We examined the immunological consequences of inbreeding in decorated crickets, Gryllodes sigillatus, by comparing lytic activity, phenoloxidase (PO) activity, and encapsulation ability of crickets from eight inbred lines with that of crickets from the outbred founder population. Surprisingly, crickets from inbred lines had a greater encapsulation ability compared with crickets from the outbred population. We suggest that because inbred crickets have reduced reproductive effort, they may, therefore, have the option of devoting more resources to this form of immunity than outbred individuals.

But that’s not very interesting. Something like this would be more appropriate:

Endogamy in European populations is frequently implied by hostile ethnic actors to be a producer of inbreeding depression. Such depression might be expected to include a reduced immunological response to hostile minorities seeking control of the population’s destiny. We compared immunological response in eight highly inter-related, monoracial populations with that in multiracial populations where exogamy is high. Not surprisingly, members of the monoracial populations displayed greater levels of tradition, self-awareness and ethnocentrism. We suggest that these are the immunological conditions from which said hostile minorities, in misrepresenting endogamy to their hosts, seek to free themselves.

Further, we suggest that endogamy and, therefore, relatedness should be the guiding principle of all European populations in which discussions rage over how to deal with minorities.

Posted by Guessedworker on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at 08:38 PM in That Question Again
Comments (8) | Tell a friend

Comments:

Posted by Lurker on August 18, 2010, 10:39 PM | #

I thought for a moment that this was going to be about those zombie ants!

Posted by Jimmy Marr on August 18, 2010, 11:24 PM | #

I like this abstract a lot. Especially the photo. Thanks for posting it.

Posted by Dan Dare on August 19, 2010, 01:53 AM | #

These wee beasties are quite common in California, and surprisingly large, 3 to 4 inches in length.

Sorry GW, didn’t mean to divert the thread, do please carry on.

Posted by Angela on August 19, 2010, 04:27 AM | #

Note the distended abdomen. Sure I’ve no doubt its got chutzpah, but I mean, it’s not exactly attractive.

Posted by Guessedworker on August 19, 2010, 04:47 AM | #

But Angie, this little fella is the host. Sorry if “Jerusalem” made you think otherwise. But ... why would you think otherwise?

Posted by Andrew on August 20, 2010, 06:18 PM | #

In Marine Biology , there are any number of species that actually have a Sex Transformations by themselves on themselves ; So to put in context ; when we tell someone to Get F-%$&#ed;, They do it ; Can’t get any closer to actually defining without ambiguity of inbreeding than that.
Different species cell structure is obviously a bit different, and when their cell structure is exposed to different environmental conditions etc; I would expect the cell to mutate; just as in many cases these days; But in Humans, there carries a fatal consequence of inbreeding , and cell mutation factors causing Cells to grow , but not to die = ?

Posted by Francis on August 22, 2010, 02:54 PM | #

uhh, whats that!? I don’t like the photo :(

Posted by Dasein on August 24, 2010, 05:47 AM | #

Here are more links about the ‘zombie ants’ Lurker mentioned:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100818105730.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090811161345.htm

When a carpenter ant is infected by a fungus known as Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, the victim remains alive for a short time. The fungus, however, is firmly in the driver’s seat. It compels the ant to climb from its nest high in the forest canopy down into small plants and saplings in the understory vegetation. The ant then climbs out onto the underside of a low-hanging leaf where it clamps down with its mandibles just before it dies. There it remains, stuck fast for weeks.

After the ant dies, the fungus continues to grow inside the body. After a few days, a stroma—the fungus’s fruiting body—sprouts from the back of the ant’s head. After a week or two, the stroma starts raining down spores to the forest floor below. Each spore has the potential to infect another unfortunate passerby.

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