Antiviral immunity in insects
Insects have an immune system that allows them to live undisturbed when they are infected with a virus that is deadly to human beings. Why is this and how does this immune system work? Could we manipulate this immune system and therefore prevent humans from getting infected by insect bites? We aim to answer these questions, by using Drosophila melanogaster as a model insect and Aedes mosquitoes to explore our research.
Keywords
Insects / innate immunity / RNAi / vector borne viral diseases / antiviral response