Insect Infection and Immunity Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, The George Washington University Washington, DC, USA.
Front Physiol. 2013 Mar 15;4:46. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2013.00046. eCollection 2013.
Insects have evolved obligate, mutualistic interactions with bacteria without further transmission to other eukaryotic organisms. Such long-term obligate partnerships between insects and bacteria have a profound effect on various physiological functions of the host. Here we provide an overview of the effects of endosymbiotic bacteria on the insect immune system as well as on the immune response of insects to pathogenic infections. Potential mechanisms through which endosymbionts can affect the ability of their host to resist an infection are discussed in the light of recent findings. We finally point out unresolved questions for future research and speculate how the current knowledge can be employed to design and implement measures for the effective control of agricultural insect pests and vectors of diseases.
昆虫与细菌之间已经进化出了强制性的互利共生关系，而不会进一步传播到其他真核生物中。昆虫与细菌之间的这种长期强制性共生关系对宿主的各种生理功能产生了深远的影响。在这里，我们概述了内共生细菌对昆虫免疫系统以及昆虫对病原体感染的免疫反应的影响。根据最近的发现，我们讨论了内共生体影响宿主抵抗感染能力的潜在机制。最后，我们指出了未来研究中尚未解决的问题，并推测了如何利用现有知识来设计和实施有效控制农业害虫和疾病传播媒介的措施。
