@article{558,
  abstract     = {Immune specificity is the degree to which a host’s immune system discriminates among various pathogens or antigenic variants. Vertebrate immune memory is highly specific due to antibody responses. On the other hand, some invertebrates show immune priming, i.e. improved survival after secondary exposure to a previously encountered pathogen. Until now, specificity of priming has only been demonstrated via the septic infection route or when live pathogens were used for priming. Therefore, we tested for specificity in the oral priming route in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. For priming, we used pathogen-free supernatants derived from three different strains of the entomopathogen, Bacillus thuringiensis, which express different Cry toxin variants known for their toxicity against this beetle. Subsequent exposure to the infective spores showed that oral priming was specific for two naturally occurring strains, while a third engineered strain did not induce any priming effect. Our data demonstrate that oral immune priming with a non-infectious bacterial agent can be specific, but the priming effect is not universal across all bacterial strains.},
  author       = {Futo, Momir and Sell, Marie and Kutzer, Megan and Kurtz, Joachim},
  issn         = {1744-9561},
  journal      = {Biology Letters},
  number       = {12},
  publisher    = {The Royal Society},
  title        = {{Specificity of oral immune priming in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum}},
  doi          = {10.1098/rsbl.2017.0632},
  volume       = {13},
  year         = {2017},
}

@article{561,
  abstract     = {Restriction–modification systems are widespread genetic elements that protect bacteria from bacteriophage infections by recognizing and cleaving heterologous DNA at short, well-defined sequences called restriction sites. Bioinformatic evidence shows that restriction sites are significantly underrepresented in bacteriophage genomes, presumably because bacteriophages with fewer restriction sites are more likely to escape cleavage by restriction–modification systems. However, how mutations in restriction sites affect the likelihood of bacteriophage escape is unknown. Using the bacteriophage l and the restriction–modification system EcoRI, we show that while mutation effects at different restriction sites are unequal, they are independent. As a result, the probability of bacteriophage escape increases with each mutated restriction site. Our results experimentally support the role of restriction site avoidance as a response to selection imposed by restriction–modification systems and offer an insight into the events underlying the process of bacteriophage escape.},
  author       = {Pleska, Maros and Guet, Calin C},
  issn         = {1744-9561},
  journal      = {Biology Letters},
  number       = {12},
  publisher    = {The Royal Society},
  title        = {{Effects of mutations in phage restriction sites during escape from restriction–modification}},
  doi          = {10.1098/rsbl.2017.0646},
  volume       = {13},
  year         = {2017},
}

@article{7753,
  abstract     = {In many species, females show reduced expression of a trait that is under sexual selection in males, and this expression is thought to be maintained through genetic associations with the male phenotype. However, there is also the potential for the female trait to convey an advantage in intrasexual conflicts over resources. We tested this hypothesis in a feral population of Soay sheep, in which males and females have a polymorphism for horn development, producing either full (normal horned), reduced (scurred) or no (polled, females only) horns. During the lambing period, females who possessed horns were more likely to initiate and win aggressive interactions, independent of age, weight and birthing status. The occurrence of aggression was also context dependent, decreasing over the lambing period and associated with local density. Our results demonstrate that a trait that confers benefits to males during intrasexual competition for mates may also be used by females in intrasexual competition over resources: males use weaponry to gain mates, whereas females use weaponry to gain food.},
  author       = {Robinson, Matthew Richard and Kruuk, Loeske E.B},
  issn         = {1744-9561},
  journal      = {Biology Letters},
  number       = {6},
  pages        = {651--654},
  publisher    = {The Royal Society},
  title        = {{Function of weaponry in females: The use of horns in intrasexual competition for resources in female Soay sheep}},
  doi          = {10.1098/rsbl.2007.0278},
  volume       = {3},
  year         = {2007},
}