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Dominance rank-associated immune gene expression is widespread, sex-specific, and a precursor to high social status in wild male baboons

View ORCID ProfileAmanda J Lea, View ORCID ProfileMercy Y Akinyi, Ruth Nyakundi, Peter Mareri, Fred Nyundo, Thomas Kariuki, View ORCID ProfileSusan Alberts, View ORCID ProfileElizabeth Archie, View ORCID ProfileJenny Tung
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/366021
Amanda J Lea
Princeton University;
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Mercy Y Akinyi
Duke University;
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Ruth Nyakundi
Institute of Primate Research;
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Peter Mareri
Institute of Primate Research;
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Fred Nyundo
Institute of Primate Research;
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Thomas Kariuki
Institute of Primate Research;
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Susan Alberts
Duke University;
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Elizabeth Archie
University of Notre Dame
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Jenny Tung
Duke University;
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  • For correspondence: jenny.tung@duke.edu
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Abstract

In humans and other hierarchical species, social status is tightly linked to variation in health and fitness-related traits. Experimental manipulations of social status in female rhesus macaques suggest that this relationship is partially explained by status effects on immune gene regulation. However, social hierarchies are established and maintained in different ways across species: while some are based on kin-directed nepotism, others emerge from direct physical competition. We investigated how this variation influences the relationship between social status and immune gene regulation in wild baboons, where hierarchies in males are based on fighting ability but female hierarchies are nepotistic. We measured rank-related variation in gene expression levels in adult baboons of both sexes at baseline and in response to ex vivo stimulation with the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We identified >2000 rank-associated genes in males, an order of magnitude more than in females. In males, high status predicted increased expression of genes involved in innate immunity and preferential activation of the NFkB-mediated pro-inflammatory pathway, a pattern previously associated with low status in female rhesus macaques. Using Mendelian randomization, we reconcile these observations by demonstrating that high status-associated gene expression patterns are precursors, not consequences, of high social status in males, in support of the idea that physiological condition determines who attains high rank. Together, our work provides the first test of the relationship between social status and immune gene regulation in wild primates. It also emphasizes the importance of social context in shaping the relationship between social status and immune function.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted July 10, 2018.
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Dominance rank-associated immune gene expression is widespread, sex-specific, and a precursor to high social status in wild male baboons
Amanda J Lea, Mercy Y Akinyi, Ruth Nyakundi, Peter Mareri, Fred Nyundo, Thomas Kariuki, Susan Alberts, Elizabeth Archie, Jenny Tung
bioRxiv 366021; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/366021
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Dominance rank-associated immune gene expression is widespread, sex-specific, and a precursor to high social status in wild male baboons
Amanda J Lea, Mercy Y Akinyi, Ruth Nyakundi, Peter Mareri, Fred Nyundo, Thomas Kariuki, Susan Alberts, Elizabeth Archie, Jenny Tung
bioRxiv 366021; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/366021

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