"With its broad and lucid treatment of insect immunity, this volume paves the way for new recruits and encourages current researchers to expand and refine their approaches." (James B. Nardi, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 95 (4), December, 2020)
Part I: Searching for Genes and Proteins Involved in the Immune Response
1. Characterization of Insect Immune Systems from Genomic Data
Robert M. Waterhouse, Brian P. Lazzaro, and Timothy B. Sackton
2. Analyzing Immunity in Non-model Insects using de novo Transcriptomics
Shulin He, Paul R. Johnston, and Dino P. McMahon
3. Preparation of Insect Protein Samples for Label-free Proteomic Quantification by LC-mass Spectrometry
Alexandro Rodríguez-Rojas and Jens Rolff
Part II: Cellular Response
4. Quantification of Blood Cells in Drosophila melanogaster and other Insects
Sean Corcoran and Katja Brückner
5. Methods to Quantify in vivo Phagocytic Uptake and Opsonization of Live or Killed microbesin Drosophila melanogaster
Samuel Liégeois, Wenhui Wang, and Dominique Ferrandon
6. Analysis of Cellular Immune Responses in Lepidopteran Larvae
Andrea Becchimanzi, Ilaria Di Lelio, Francesco Pennacchio, and Silvia Caccia
Part III: Humoral Response: Melanization, Lysozyme, and Antimicrobial Peptides
7. Detection of Enzyme Distribution, Expression, Activation, and Activity of Insect Prophenoloxidase
Kai Wu, Bing Yang, Jing Wang, Yufa Luo, Yuyang Ni, and Wuren Huang
8. Basic Methods to Evaluate Humoral Immunity Processes in Lepidoptera larvae
Maristella Mastore and Maurizio Francesco Brivio
Part IV: Humoral Response: Antimicrobial Peptides as Alternatives to Conventional Antibiotics
9. Methods for the in vitro Examination of the Antibacterial and Cytotoxic Activities of Antimicrobial Peptides
Bruno Casciaro, Floriana Cappiello, Maria Rosa Loffredo, and Maria Luisa Mangoni
10. Characterization of Antimicrobial Peptide - Membrane Interaction Using All-atom Molecular Dynamic Simulation
Shruti Mukherjee, Rajiv K. Kar, Anirban Bhunia
Part V: Insect Immunity and Environmental Interactions
11. Manipulating the Mosquito Microbiota to Study its Function
Ottavia Romoli and Mathilde Gendrin
12. Discovery and Analysis of RNA Viruses in Insects
Lumi Viljakainen and Jaana Jurvansuu
VI: Infection Models
13. A Workflow for Infection of Drosophila with Entomopathogenic Nematodes to Monitor Immune Gene Transcriptional Activity
Christa Heryanto, Eric Kenney, and Ioannis Eleftherianos
14. Oral Infection in a Germ-Free Bombyx mori Model
Daniel Brady, Alessio Saviane, Ottavia Romoli, Gianluca Tettamanti, Federica Sandrelli, and Silvia Cappellozza
15. Silkworm Infection Model for Evaluating Pathogen Virulence
Yasuhiko Matsumotoand Kazuhisa Sekimizu
This volume details methods and protocols necessary to further the study of insect immunity. Chapters guide readers through up-to-date genomic and transcriptomic approaches, insect samples for proteomic analysis, hemocytes in Drosophila, cellular response in Lepidoptera, insect AMPs, manipulate the composition of mosquito microbiota, viral infections in insects, infections by entomopathogenic nematodes, immune response following oral infections, and protocols to to monitor the effect of septic infections with human pathogens using B. mori as a model. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Authoritative and cutting-edge, Immunity in Insects aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.Incl