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House Finch Populations Differ In Early Inflammatory Signaling And Pathogen Tolerance At The Peak Of Mycoplasma Gallisepticum Infection, James S. Adelman, Laila Kirkpatrick, Jessica L. Grodio, Dana M. Hawley

James S. Adelman

Host individuals and populations often vary in their responses to infection, with direct consequences for pathogen spread and evolution. While considerable work has focused on the mechanisms underlying differences in resistance—the ability to kill pathogens— we know little about the mechanisms underlying tolerance— the ability to minimize fitness losses per unit pathogen. Here, we examine patterns and mechanisms of tolerance between two populations of house finches (Haemorhous [formerly Carpodacus] mexicanus) with different histories with the bacterial pathogen Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG). After infection in a common environment, we assessed two metrics of pathology, mass loss and eye lesion severity, as proxies …