Abstarct Effects of Beauveria bassiana (Bals.-Criv.) spores on immune functions of Glyphodes pyloalis Walker larvae were studied. Total and differential hemocyte counts revealed that infection by B. bassiana caused a dramatic change in hemocyte number. In vivo and in vitro studies demonstrated that increase in time exposure to fungal pathogen resulted in elevated phagocytic activity. Nodules we...

Thorectes lusitanicus, a typically coprophagous species is also actively attracted to oak acorns, consuming, burying them, and conferring ecophysiological and reproductive advantages to both the beetle and the tree. In this study, we explored the possible relation between diet shift and the health status of T. lusitanicus using a generalist entomopathogenic fungus (Metarhizium anisopliae) as a ...

The contribution of adaptive mechanisms in maintaining genetic polymorphisms is still debated in many systems. To understand the contribution of selective factors in maintaining polymorphism, we investigated large-scale (>1000 km) geographic variation in morph frequencies and fitness-related physiological traits in the damselfly Nehalennia irene. As fitness-related physiological traits, we inve...

three different experiments were conducted to study the effect of dietary astaxanthin on the immune response, resistance to white spot syndrome virus (wssv) and transcription of antioxidant enzyme genes in pacific white shrimp litopenaeus vannamei. each experiment included one triplicate treatment group (fed with 80 mg/kg astaxanthin supplemented diet) and one triplicate control group (fed with...

Environmental temperature has important effects on the physiology and life history of ectothermic animals, including investment in the immune system and the infectious capacity of pathogens. Numerous studies have examined individual components of these complex systems, but little is known about how they integrate when animals are exposed to different temperatures. Here, we use the Indian meal m...

Several indoles served as substrates for the phenoloxidase of Cryptococcus neoformans and resulted in the production of a melanin-like pigment. In general, a higher percentage of C. neoformans var. neoformans (A and D serotypes) isolates could produce pigment from indoles than could those of var. gattii (B and C serotypes). Only compounds with a hydroxyl or an amino group on the phenyl ring pro...