Insect eggs are immune competent

What is it about?

Much is known about immune responses in insects. Especially Drosophila has thought us much about the immune system. However, Drosophila eggs show hardly any immune response. Here we show that in another insect, the red flour beetle, eggs are capable of inducing a potent immune response. This response depends on the extraembryonic membrane, the serosa, which is absent in Drosophila.

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Why is it important?

Contrary to Drosophila, most insects do develop the extraembryonic serosa. Our finding that this membrane is essential for a potent immune response in the insect egg indicates that many insects might be able to induce an immune response. This has important consequences for our understanding of insect ecology.