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Differential induction of antibacterial transcripts in Drosophila susceptible and resistant to parasitism by Leptopilina boulardi
Author(s) -
Coustau C.,
Carton Y.,
Nappl A.,
Shotkoski F.,
FfrenchConstant R.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
insect molecular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.955
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-2583
pISSN - 0962-1075
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2583.1996.tb00050.x
Subject(s) - biology , immune system , antibacterial activity , cecropin , antibacterial peptide , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , parasitism , bacteria , antimicrobial peptides , genetics , host (biology)
Two welldescribed elements of the Immune response of insects include encapsulation of metazoan parasites (blood‐cell‐mediated) and the production of antibacterial peptides (humoral and/or cellular). However, the possible functional interrelationship between cellular encapsulation and antibacterial responses, and the extent to which the two components may be co‐regulated, are poorly understood. We used a novel approach involving strains of Drosophila resistant (R) or susceptible (S) to the wasp parasitold Leptopilina boulardi to study the expression of three genes involved in the antibacterial response: Dorsal‐related immunity factor (Dil), Cecropin (CecA1 ) and Diptericin (Dip ). Both S and R strains produced high levels of all antibacterial transcripts upon bacterial injection. However, when parasitized the R strain showed no induction whilst the S strain did. This lack of antibacterial transcript induction in the parasitized R strain not only clarifies the separation of these two types of immune response but also raises the fascinating possibility of a link in their genetic regulation.