Do genetic costs of host defensive mechanisms exist in the absence of parasitism?
We are currently collecting data to construct life history tables for genetically resistant lines and for the base population from which they were derived in order to determine whether the possession of resistance exacts a net fitness cost. Life tables will be constructed under for normal’ and stressful conditions to address whether the expression of a cost of resistance is dependent on environment. Related Interests Parasitoid-mediated horizontal transfer of Wolbachia Previous work with Rob Butcher, Steve Hubbard and Will Whitfield at Dundee involved a mechanism of horizontal or infectious transmission of Wolbachia, an intracellular bacterial parasite that infects as many as 20% of all arthropods. This reproductive parasite has generated considerable research interest in recent years, not least for its potential application in biological control. Wolbachia normally undergoes strict vertical transmission through the maternal line of its host populations; males cannot transmit Wolbachia
