With the release of large amounts of CO2, ocean acidification is intensifying and affecting aquatic organisms. In addition, salinity also plays an important role for marine organisms and fluctuates greatly in estuarine and coastal ecosystem, where ocean acidification frequently occurs. In present study, flow cytometry was used to investigate immune parameters of haemocytes in the thick shell mu...

Histological alterations in digestive gland as well as hematological and biochemical changes in haemolymph of Shistosoma mansoni infected Biomphalaria alexandrina snails were studied. The results showed great histological damages in tissues of the digestive gland of infected snails with large numbers of sporocysts and cercariae at several stages of development encircled by cycts in tissue of di...

The molecular mechanism by which polydnaviruses of endoparasitoid wasps disrupt cell-mediated encapsulation reactions of host insects is largely unknown. Here we show that a polydnavirus-encoded protein, produced from baculovirus and plasmid expression vectors, prevents cell surface exposure of lectin-binding sites and microparticle formation during immune stimulation of haemocytes. The inactiv...

Heat shock protein 60 is an important chaperonin. In this paper, hsp60 of the stem borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), was cloned by RT-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA end (RACE) reactions. The full length cDNA of hsp6 degrees Consisted of 2142 bp, with an ORF of 1719 bp, encoding 572 amino acid residues, with a 5'UTR of 158 bp and a 3'UTR of 265 bp. Cluster analysi...

In microbial infections, the interaction between microorganisms and phagocytic cells is a crucial determinant in the outcome of the disease process. We used flow cytometry to study the in vitro interactions between Vibrio tapetis, the bacterium responsible for Brown Ring Disease (BRD) in the Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum, and haemocytes from three bivalve species: the Manila clam (suscept...

In Drosophila, the humoral response characterised by the synthesis of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in the fat body (the equivalent of the mammalian liver) and the cellular response mediated by haemocytes (blood cells) engaged in phagocytosis represent two major reactions that counter pathogens. Although considerable analysis has permitted the elucidation of mechanisms pertaining to the two res...

The neuroendocrine-immune (NEI) regulatory network is a complex system, which plays an indispensable role in the immunity of the host. In the present study, the bioinformatical analysis of the transcriptomic data from oyster Crassostrea gigas and further biological validation revealed that oyster TNF (CgTNF-1 CGI_10018786) could activate the transcription factors NF-κB and HSF (heat shock trans...

The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, is extensively cultivated and represents an important economic activity. Oysters are reared in estuarine areas, subjected to various biotic and abiotic factors. One of the limiting factors in aquaculture is mortality outbreaks, which may limit oyster production, and the causes of these outbreaks are not completely understood. In this context, the effects o...

Effective antiviral protection in multicellular organisms relies on both cell-autonomous and systemic immunity. Systemic immunity mediates the spread of antiviral signals from infection sites to distant uninfected tissues. In arthropods, RNA interference (RNAi) is responsible for antiviral defense. Here, we show that flies have a sophisticated systemic RNAi-based immunity mediated by macrophage...