Low cost antiviral activity of Plodia interpunctella haemolymph in vivo demonstrated by dose dependent infection

Given the ubiquity of infectious disease it is important to understand the way in which hosts defend themselves and any costs that they may pay for this defence. Despite this, we know relatively little about insect immune responses to viruses when compared to their well-characterized responses to other pathogens. In particular it is unclear whether there is significant haemocoelic response to viral infection. Here we directly examine this question by examining whether there is a dose-dependency in infection risk when a DNA virus is injected directly into the haemocoel. Infection from direct injection into the haemocoel showed a clear dose dependency that is indicative of an active intrahaemocoelic immune response to DNA viruses in insects. In contrast to the natural oral infection route, we found no measurable sublethal effects in the survivours from direct injection. This suggests that the immune responses in the haemocoel are less costly than those that occur earlier.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights▶ There is a clear dose dependency in response to infection by direct injection of budded virus into the haemocoel. ▶ In contrast to oral infection, there are no significant sublethal effects of intrahaemocoelic infection. ▶ There is therefore a systemic intrahaemocoelic immune response to viruses that is relatively cheap to use.