BMC Biology is calling for submissions to our Collection on Evolution of immunity. Evolution of immunity happens on many timescales and encompasses the development of both the innate and adaptive immune systems. The innate immune system provides an immediate response to pathogens often involving phagocytic processes, whereas the adaptive immune system responds after pathogenic invasion has begun, with the Toll pathway, a very ancient signaling pathway, which long predates the adaptive immune system linking the two.
For this Collection, we invite immunity-related submissions with high impact from diverse research fields including evolutionary biology, genetics, and ecology. We are interested in research on evolutionary origins of immune cell types, viral DNA integration, how pathogens co-evolve with their hosts adapting to host immune defenses and shaping the trajectory of infectious diseases. We also welcome studies with insights from evolutionary immunology that are crucial for vaccine development, disease surveillance, antimicrobial resistance, and ecosystem health, offering innovative approaches for disease prevention and biodiversity conservation.
Potential topics for submission include, but are not limited to:
- Adaptive changes in immune systems across species over time
- The evolution of intrinsic immunity
- Evolutionary dynamics of host-pathogen interactions
- Evolutionary origins of immune cell types
- Evolutionary aspects of macrophages polarization
- Genetic basis of immune system variation within populations
- Evolutionary perspectives on matters of public health such as vaccine development, disease surveillance, or antimicrobial resistance
- Evolutionary ecology of infectious diseases
- Eco-immunology: linking immune function to ecological interactions
- Novel biological insights from phylogenetic analyses or comparative immunogenomics
This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being.
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