Lexi Calderon, a student from the University of Redlands, worked with Dr. Andy Davis and members of his lab to study parasites affect wound-healing in bess beetles.
Abstract: By definition, parasites depend on the resources of their host to survive. This relationship can result in a decrease of energy and fitness for the host. The parasitic nematode Chondronema passali resides in the hemocoel cavity of the bess beetle, Odontotaenius disjunctus. Although this parasite is non-lethal, a single beetle can harbor thousands of nematodes. Previous research has demonstrated this parasite affects the stress reaction of beetles, but very little research has investigated the effect parasites have on the host’s ability to heal a wound. Wound healing can be thought of as an indicator of the effectiveness of the immune system and by studying healing we can infer the effect this parasite has on the fitness of its host. We conducted a series of experiments where beetles were wounded with a dremel rotary drill and observed every hour for 12 hours after initial wounding. Each hour beetles were given a value from 1-5 to measure their status in the wound healing process, and values were summed to generate a ‘wound healing score’ for each beetle. Beetles were killed and dissected following the experiment to define gender and parasite abundance. Out of 188 beetles, 83% were infected with C.passali. Wound healing scores were not significantly predicted by parasite status. Beetle weight was a predictor of wound healing scores where heavier beetles had higher scores. Oxygen consumption was also measured in a subset of beetles after wounding, and we found parasitized beetles tended to have higher respiration (10% higher) than non-infected beetles.