BACKGROUND Despite ongoing advances in biomedicine, infectious diseases remain a
major threat to human health, economic sustainability, and wildlife conservation. This is in …

The vertebrate immune system has evolved in concert with a broad range of infectious
agents, including ubiquitous helminth (worm) parasites. The constant pressure of helminth …

Natural antibodies (NAb) are defined as germline encoded immunoglobulins found in
individuals without (known) prior antigenic experience. NAb bind exogenous (eg, bacterial) …

Laboratory mice have provided invaluable insight into mammalian immune systems. Yet the
immune phenotypes of mice bred and maintained in conventional laboratory conditions …

Immune responses targeting self-proteins (autoantigens) can lead to a variety of
autoimmune diseases. Identification of these antigens is important for both diagnostic and …

Since the advent of microbiology, it has been well known that each human body hosts a
multitude of microbes. The magnitude of our microbial system is best reflected by the widely …

Ecoimmunologists aim to understand the costs, benefits, and net fitness consequences of
different strategies for immune defense. 2. Measuring the fitness consequences of immune …

Although reproductive strategies can be influenced by a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic
factors, life history theory provides a rigorous framework for explaining variation in …

In wild populations, individuals are regularly exposed to a wide range of pathogens. In this
context, organisms must elicit and regulate effective immune responses to protect their …

The ecology of infectious disease in wildlife has become a pivotal theme in animal and
public health. Studies of infectious disease ecology rely on robust surveillance of pathogens …