Social tuco-tucos develop more variety.In mustachioed mus·ta·chio also mous·ta·chio n. pl. mus·ta·chios A mustache, especially a luxuriant one. [Ultimately from Italian dialectal mustaccio, mustache; see mustache. rodents called tuco-tucos, nature has set up a tidy test for the effect of social life on the immune system immune system Cells, cell products, organs, and structures of the body involved in the detection and destruction of foreign invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. Immunity is based on the system's ability to launch a defense against such invaders. . Group life boosts exposure to pathogens, explains Eileen A. Lacey of the University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. Commonly referred to as UC Berkeley, Berkeley and Cal . Evolutionarily, that added exposure ought to be associated with more genetic variety in immune systems than solitary lifestyles show. Lacey tested this proposition in two neighboring tuco-tuco species in Argentina. Ctenomys sociabilis cluster in groups, but Ctenomys haigi live solitary lives. Lacey and her UC-Berkeley colleague Tina M. Hambuch analyzed DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. from 35 animals in one population of each species. The researchers compared the DNA sequences in a gene that encodes a molecule in the major histocompatibility complex major histocompatibility complex n. Abbr. MHC A chromosomal segment that codes for cell-surface histocompatibility antigens and is the principal determinant of tissue type and transplant compatibility. Also called HLA complex. , a key part of the immune system. The social tuco-tucos consistently showed more variation at these spots than the solitary species did. That difference seems to reflect a special richness of the immune system, Lacey suggests. A test section elsewhere in the salamanders' genomes didn't show differences in diversity between the two species. |
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