ArticlePhysiological and biochemical zoology : PBZ
Immune Defense Varies within an Instar in the Tobacco Hornworm, Manduca sexta.
Article in Physiological and biochemical zoology : PBZ. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- The effects of dietary iron supplementation on bacterial infections inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- The effects of dietary iron supplementation on bacterial infections in Manduca sexta larval hemolymph.PloS one · 2026Article
- Effects of Larval Starvation Stress on the Life History and Adult Fitness of Fall Webworm,Insects · 2025Article
- Immune Reactions of Vector Insects to Parasites and Pathogens.Microorganisms · 2024Review
- Impact of the Diet on the Mortality and on Gene Expression of the Antimicrobial Peptide Tenecin 3 inInsects · 2023Article
- A zone-of-inhibition assay to screen for humoral antimicrobial activity in mosquito hemolymph.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Article
- Leishmania, microbiota and sand fly immunity.Parasitology · 2018Review
- The orange spotted cockroach (Proceedings of the West Virginia Academy of Science · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Research on how insect immunity changes with age as insects develop within an instar, or larval developmental stage, is limited and contradictory. Insects within an instar are preparing for the next developmental stage, which may involve changes in morphology or habitat. Immunity may also vary accordingly. To determine how immunity varies in the fifth instar, we tested humoral immune responses, antimicrobial peptide activity, and phenoloxidase activity using the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta. We determined that while M. sexta have more robust antimicrobial peptide and phenoloxidase responses at the beginning of their fifth instar, this did not translate into better survival of bacterial infection or lower bacterial load in the hemolymph. We also determined that M. sexta injected with bacteria early in the fifth instar experience lower growth rates and longer development times than caterpillars of the same age injected with sham. This could indicate a shift in energy allocation from growth and development to metabolically costly immune responses. Because of the importance of insects as pests and pollinators, understanding how immunity varies throughout development is critical.
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Registered trials
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