Melanism and disease resistance in insects

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Wilson, K., Cotter, S. C., Reeson, A. F. and Pell, J. K. 2001. Melanism and disease resistance in insects. Ecology Letters. 4 (6), pp. 637-649. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1461-0248.2001.00279.x

AuthorsWilson, K., Cotter, S. C., Reeson, A. F. and Pell, J. K.
Abstract

There is growing evidence that insects in high-density populations invest relatively more in pathogen resistance than those in low-density populations (i.e. density-dependent prophylaxis). Such increases in resistance are often accompanied by cuticular melanism, which is characteristic of the high-density form of many phase polyphenic insects. Both melanism and pathogen resistance involve the prophenoloxidase enzyme system. In this paper the link between resistance, melanism and phenoloxidase activity is examined in Spodoptera lanae. In S. exempta, cuticular melanism was positively correlated with phenoloxidase activity in the cuticle, haemolymph and midgut. Melanic S. exempta larvae were found to melanize a greater proportion of eggs of the ectoparasitoid Euplectrus laphygmae than non-melanic larvae, and melanic S. littoralis were more resistant to the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (in S. exempta the association between melanism and fungal resistance was non-signficant). These results strengthen the link between melanism and disease resistance and implicate the involvement of phenoloxidase.

KeywordsEcology
Year of Publication2001
JournalEcology Letters
Journal citation4 (6), pp. 637-649
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1461-0248.2001.00279.x
Open accessPublished as non-open access
Funder project or code435
436
509
The diversity, biology and dynamics of microbial agents that regulate nematode populations in the rhizosphere
Project: 1015
PublisherWiley
ISSN1461-023X

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