Differential expression of immune defences is associated with specific host-parasite interactions in insects.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 19859547.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0007621 and PMC identifier 2762600.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Recent ecological studies in invertebrates show that the outcome of an infection is dependent on the specific pairing of host and parasite. Such specificity contrasts the long-held view that invertebrate innate immunity depends on a broad-spectrum recognition system. An important question is whether this specificity is due to the immune response rather than some other interplay between host and parasite genotypes. By measuring the expression of putative bumblebee homologues of antimicrobial peptides in response to infection by their gut trypanosome Crithidia bombi, we demonstrate that expression differences are associated with the specific interactions.
Medical subject headings
- Gene Expression Profiling
- Gene Expression Regulation
- Host-Parasite Interactions
- Immune System
- Insecta