Year: 2006
Type: review
Abstract: Insect innate immunity is both a model for vertebrate immunity as well as a key system that impactsmedically important pathogens that are transmitted by insects. Recent developments in proteomics and protein identification techniques combined with the completion of genome sequences for Anopheles gambiae and Drosophila melanogaster provided the tools for examining insect immunity at a new level of molecular detail. Application of proteomics to insect immunity resulted in predictions of new roles in immunity for proteins already known in other contexts (e.g. ferritin, transferrin, Chi-lectins) and helped to target specific members of multi-gene families that respond to different pathogens (e.g. serine proteases, thioester proteins). In addition, proteomics studies verify that post-translational modifications play a key role in insect immunity since many of the identified proteins are modified in some way. These studies complement recent work on insect transcriptomes and provide new directions for further investigation of innate immunity.Key words: phagocytosis; phagocytosis; antimicrobial peptides; Drosophila melanogaster; Anopheles gambiae; 2DPAGE; hemolymph
Source: Invertebrate survival journal
Authors: L Shi, S M Paskewitz
Institution: University of Wisconsin–Madison
Language: English
Subfield: Immunology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W153096633