Some Biochemical Aspects of Eumelanin Formation in Insect Immunity

Insects employ an arsenal of defences to successfully combat a diversity of nonself components. Their immune responses include phagocytosis, nodule formation, agglutination, secretion of antibacterial proteins, and cellular encapsulation (Ashida and Yamazaki, 1990; Boman et al, 1991; Christensen and Nappi, 1988; Coombe et al, 1984; Gotz, 1986; Gotz and Boman, 1985; Gupta, 1988; Lackie, 1988; Ratcliffe et al., 1985; Salt, 1970; Schmidt and Theopold, 1991; Soderhall, 1982; Sugumaran, 1990). Presently, very little is understood about the initial events of immune recognition, or how the various cellular and biochemical effector responses potentiated by the recognition process kill foreign organisms.