The mosquito melanization response is implicated in defense against the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana.

ABSTRACT: Mosquito immunity studies have focused mainly on characterizing immune effector mechanisms elicited against parasites, bacteria and more recently, viruses. However, those elicited against entomopathogenic fungi remain poorly understood, despite the ubiquitous nature of these microorganisms and their unique invasion route that bypasses the midgut epithelium, an important immune tissue and physical barrier. Here, we used the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae as a model to investigate the role of melanization, a potent immune effector mechanism of arthropods, in mosquito defense against the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana, using in vivo functional genetic analysis and confocal microscopy. The temporal monitoring of fungal growth in mosquitoes injected with B. bassiana conidia showed

SUBMITTER: Yassine H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3499577 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature