ArticlePLoS pathogens2015
Transfer of Immunity from Mother to Offspring Is Mediated via Egg-Yolk Protein Vitellogenin.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 106 papers.
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Who cites it
106 citing papers in PubMed.
- Soma-to-germline miRNA inheritance through yolk promotes stress resilience in progeny.Nature structural & molecular biology · 2026Article
- Population Genetic Study ofEcology and evolution · 2026Article
- Loss of vitellogenin receptor function results in yolk depletion, virome expansion, and reduced bacterial load within the oocytes of Rhodnius prolixus.BMC biology · 2026Article
- Review
- Innate defense mechanisms against Nosema ceranae in hygienic honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies.PloS one · 2026Article
- Honey-derivedVirulence · 2025Article
- Animal medical systems from Apis to apes: history, recent advances and future perspectives.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2025Review
- Immune priming of honey bees protects against a major microsporidian pathogen.Pest management science · 2025Article
- Elevated virus infection of honey bee queens reduces methyl oleate production and destabilizes colony-level social structure.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Evidence for vitellogenin DNA-binding in honey bees.Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society · 2025Article
- Assessing structure-function impacts on Vitellogenin by leveraging allelic variant found in honey bee subspeciesiScience · 2025Article
- Full-Length Transcriptome Analysis of Alternative Splicing and Polyadenylation in the Molecular Regulation of Labor Division inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Cryo-EM structure of native honey bee vitellogenin.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Reproductive adaptation of Astyanax mexicanus under nutrient limitation.Developmental biology · 2025Article
- Current insights into insect immune memory.eLife · 2025Review
- Honey bee egg composition changes seasonally and after acute maternal virus infection.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Review
- Roles of Vitellogenin and Its Receptor Genes in Female Reproduction of the Cigarette Beetle,Insects · 2025Article
- Evidence for trans-generational immune priming againstFrontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Parental influence on brown trout offspring immune cell composition: An infection study with Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae.PloS one · 2025Article
46 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Insect immune systems can recognize specific pathogens and prime offspring immunity. High specificity of immune priming can be achieved when insect females transfer immune elicitors into developing oocytes. The molecular mechanism behind this transfer has been a mystery. Here, we establish that the egg-yolk protein vitellogenin is the carrier of immune elicitors. Using the honey bee, Apis mellifera, model system, we demonstrate with microscopy and western blotting that vitellogenin binds to bacteria, both Paenibacillus larvae--the gram-positive bacterium causing American foulbrood disease--and to Escherichia coli that represents gram-negative bacteria. Next, we verify that vitellogenin binds to pathogen-associated molecular patterns; lipopolysaccharide, peptidoglycan and zymosan, using surface plasmon resonance. We document that vitellogenin is required for transport of cell-wall pieces of E. coli into eggs by imaging tissue sections. These experiments identify vitellogenin, which is distributed widely in oviparous species, as the carrier of immune-priming signals. This work reveals a molecular explanation for trans-generational immunity in insects and a previously undescribed role for vitellogenin.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.