title: Masquerading as self? Endoparasitic Strepsiptera (Insecta) enclose themselves in host-derived epidermal bag.
abstract: We report here the case of a metazoan parasite, a strepsipteran, that manipulates host epidermal tissue and wraps itself within it; which probably camouflages the endoparasite and is recognized as "self" by the host. This mechanism is one of immune avoidance among parasitoid insects. The host-derived epidermal "bag" might have enabled Strepsiptera to radiate to disparate hosts compared with the relatively few taxa (596 species) described so far. They have been recorded as parasitizing 34 families belonging to seven orders of Insecta. We also report a mechanism of insect ecdysis between the first- and second-instar larva, while enclosed in the bag.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, United Kingdom. jeyaraney.kathirithamby@zoology.oxford.ac.uk
authors.forename: Jeyaraney
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kathirithamby
authors.forename: Larry D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: J Spencer
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Johnston
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D004817:Epidermis / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000502:physiology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007313:Insecta / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018978:Molting; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial