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Erik E. Osnas
eosnas@indiana.edu
Indiana
University
Department of Biology
Bloomington, IN 47401
USA
Advisors:
Dr. Curtis
Lively,
Evolution, Ecology & Behavior, IU
Dr. Edmund
Brodie III,
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, IU
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Research Interests
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Potamopyrgus antipodarum
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The
proposed research will investigate the relation between local adaptation
of parasites, immune response in the host, and the genetics of
recognition. The major contribution of this work to the emerging
discipline of ecological immunity will be that I will be studying both the
host and parasite. For example, I am working in a system where local
adaptation of the parasite to the host is known; whereas, most
investigations of host immune ecology focus solely on host biology and
make assumptions about parasites and the genetic basis for the
interactions. By measuring both host immune response and the growth of
parasites within the host, I will be able to understand more fully the
role of host defense, the genetics of host-parasite interactions, and how
these interact. Two experiment that I have proposed will address the role
of allopatric verses sympatric host-parasite combinations on immune
defense and its effect on these parasites. A third experiment will address
whether immune defense depends on ploidy of the host, possibly showing
that increased heterozygosity at recognition loci increases defense
effectiveness. My last experiemnt is a theoretical study of the relation
between recognition genetics, immune defense, and the advantage of
dispersal.
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Publications
- none currently
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