Olsson Lab

Research Focus

 

Immunobiology and Oxidative Stress

Do males with hormonal profiles associated with stress suffer from higher plasma levels of oxidants (e.g. lipid peroxidation), as would be predicted from higher levels of basal metabolism?

Do they show premature ageing as revealed by telomere shortening? Antioxidants (e.g. vitamin C and E) are well known for their beneficial effects for preventing degenerative diseases such as cancer.

In wild populations carotenoids are the most common antioxidant. In painted dragons, carotenoids are important components in the development of male colouration and males of the three colour morphs (red, orange and yellow) may differ in how they ingest or metabolize carotenoids.

We would like to understand the underlying mechanism as to if and why these colours evolve into honest signals, assuming the colours reliably indicate some quality of the signaler.

To do this we need to be able to dissect the independent and relative actions of immunogenotype, oxidant and carotenoids in a causal chain between ctyochemistry and an individual’s relative fitness. In this way we hope to tease out the mechanistic underpinnings of male colouration and its link to fitness.