Testosterone and carotenoids: an integrated view of trade‐offs between immunity and sexual signalling

Bioessays 29 (5):427-430 (2007)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Allocation tradeoffs with the immune system can enforce honesty on sexual signals that act as indicators of individual quality. Such tradeoffs can be brought about by (1) the dual action of testosterone, which stimulates sexual signals but also suppresses immune functions, and/or (2) competition for carotenoids, which can be deposited as ornamental pigments or used as antioxidants in support of immune functions. Recent studies1-3 integrate these two mechanisms by showing that testosterone treatment in male birds upregulates circulating lipoproteins, plasma carriers for carotenoids, and increases bio-availability of carotenoids, which enhances carotenoid-based sexual coloration and immune responsiveness. BioEssays 29:427–430, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 98,098

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Analytics

Added to PP
2013-11-23

Downloads
276 (#86,672)

6 months
8 (#471,862)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Anne Peters
Universität Hamburg

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

Add more references