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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Inoculating Anopheles gambiae Mosquitoes with Beads to Induce and Measure the Melanization Immune Response
Published on: January 12, 2017
Ecological and evolutionary implications of immunological priming in invertebrates
Tom J Little1, Alex R Kraaijeveld
1Institute for Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT UK. tom.little@ed.ac.uk
Abstract:
Invertebrates have an immune response that differs considerably from the acquired immune response found in vertebrates. However, new studies indicate that past experience with a pathogen can provide individual invertebrates, or their descendants, with enhanced immunity. This prophylactic effect, termed immunological priming, is functionally similar to the acquired immune response in vertebrates. This newfound complexity of invertebrate immunity begs investigation into the conditions under which immunological priming should evolve, and its consequences for population dynamics.
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