| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2429071 | Developmental & Comparative Immunology | 2013 | 5 Pages |
Two of the main functions of the immune system are to control infections and to contribute to wound closure. Here we present the results of an RNAseq study of immune- and wound-response gene expression in the damselfly Coenagrion puella, a representative of the odonates, the oldest taxon of winged insects. De novo assembly of RNAseq data revealed a rich repertoire of canonical immune pathways, as known from model insects, including recognition, transduction and effector gene expression. A shared set of immune and wound repair genes were differentially expressed in both wounded and immune-challenged larvae. Moreover 3-fold more immune genes were induced only in the immune-challenged treatment. This is consistent with the notion that the immune-system reads a balance of signals related to wounding and infection and that the response is tailored accordingly.
► Infection transcriptome of an odonate, oldest group of pterygote insects. ► Wounding and immune challenge lead to overexpression of immune genes. ► More genes are overexpressed in immune-challenged vs. wounded individuals. ► Odonates have a repertoire of immune transcripts comparable to more derived taxa.
