Evidence for an immune function of lepidopteran silk proteins.
Hemolymph coagulation stops bleeding and protects against infection. Clotting factors include both proteins that are conserved during evolution as well as more divergent proteins in different species. Here we show that several silk proteins also appear in the clot of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella. RT-PCR analysis reveals that silk proteins are expressed in immune tissues and induced upon wounding in both Galleria and Ephestia kuehniella, a second pyralid moth. Our results support the idea that silk proteins were co-opted for immunity and coagulation during evolution.
Korayem
Ahmed M
AM
Department of Molecular Biology and Functional Genomics, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
Hauling
Thomas
T
Lesch
Christine
C
Fabbri
Marco
M
Lindgren
Malin
M
Loseva
Olga
O
Schmidt
Otto
O
Dushay
Mitchell S
MS
Theopold
Ulrich
U
D000818:Animals; D001777:Blood Coagulation / Q000276:immunology*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005349:Fibroins / Q000276:immunology; D006458:Hemolymph / Q000276:immunology*; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000276:immunology*; D009928:Organ Specificity; D047011:Silk / Q000276:immunology*; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000276:immunology*
D047011:Silk; D005349:Fibroins