今天，质心教育为大家带来了Science最新文章Bolder tadpoles spread more disease，供广大生物竞赛党们参考~更多精彩内容请关注质心生物竞赛网~
认为蝌蚪有个性会让人觉得奇怪，但是与所有动物一样，每个树蛙的行为都会有所差异，即便其幼体也是如此。
科学家认为，这些差异或会让一些动物成为“超级传播者”，改变疾病在种群间传播的速度。为验证这一理论，科学家对160个树蛙幼体的勇敢度进行了排名，该排名以它们的觅食能力、移动方式以及向新事物移动多快等为标准。
研究人员随后让挑选的一些树蛙感染了轮状病毒(一种使全球两栖动物数量减少的致命性病毒)。由于每个水箱中注入的水里含有可能杀死任何一种自由浮动病毒的紫外线，疾病仅能从一个幼体直接传播给另一个。
研究人员发现，更加大胆的幼体，即那些向食物游动速度更快、在水中单独游动时间更少的蝌蚪，与其较为被动的同类相比，导致病毒感染的速度更快，相关成果8月23日发表于《生物学通信》。
而且，更大胆的蝌蚪被感染的几率也更高，研究人员认为，这可能是因为它们与被感染同类的接触次数更多的缘故。该团队正在测验的另一个可能性是更大胆的行为是否会产生免疫取舍。了解超级传播者对于阻止疾病暴发可能非常关键，这不仅是对两栖动物而言，对于人类和其他动物也是如此。
原文摘要：
It may be strange to think of tadpoles as having personality, but like all animals, every wood frog behaves slightly differently—even as a larva. Scientists believe that these variations might turn some animals into “superspreaders” that change how diseases spread through a population. To put this theory to the test, scientists assigned 160 wood frog larvae (Lithobates sylvaticus) boldness rankings, based on their foraging and movement patterns and how quickly they moved toward new food. They then infected selec individuals with ranavirus—a deadly virus that has been implicated in the global amphibian decline. Since the water filter in each tank contained an ultraviolet light that killed any free-floating virus, disease could only be transmitted directly from one larva to another. The researchers found that bolder larvae—those who moved faster toward food sources and spent less time swimming alone in the water—caused more infections than their passive peers, they report online today in Biology Letters. Bolder animals were also more likely to pick up an infection, which the scientists suggest could be due to their increased interactions with infected peers. Another possibility—one that the team is examining now—is whether bolder behavior results in immunological trade-offs. Identifying superspreaders may be crucial for preventing disease outbreaks, not just in amphibians, but in humans and other animals as well.
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