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Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences logoLink to Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
. 2003 Nov 7;270(Suppl 2):S220–S222. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2003.0069

Immune response is energetically costly in white cabbage butterfly pupae.

Dalial Freitak 1, Indrek Ots 1, Alo Vanatoa 1, Peeter Hõrak 1
PMCID: PMC1809938  PMID: 14667388

Abstract

Parasite-driven coevolution has led hosts to develop a complicated and potentially costly defence machinery, consisting mainly of the immune system. Despite the evidence for the trade-offs between immune function and life-history traits, it is still obscure how the costs of using and maintaining the immune function are paid. We tested whether immune challenge is energetically costly for white cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassicae L.) diapausing pupa. Individuals challenged with nylon implant raised their standard metabolic rate nearly 8% compared to the controls. Hence, costs of activation of immune system in insect pupa can be expressed in energetic currency.

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Selected References

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