IMMUNITY TO EUKARYOTIC PARASITES IN VECTOR INSECTS

Mosquitoes and blackflies have been the focus of recent efforts to elu cidate factors influencing the susceptibility of vector insects to met azoan and protozoan parasites of medical significance. Vector species exhibit variation in cellular and humoral immune responses, as highlig hted by studies of melanotic encapsulation and components of the pheno loxidase system. Significant progress has been made in the development of genetic maps based upon molecular markers, leading to the genetic analysis of loci influencing susceptibility. The identification of spe cific inducible antibacterial peptides, and the cloning of genes encod ing immune effector proteins as well as potential regulatory factors, open the path to fruitful studies of vector insect innate immunity and its relationship to insect-parasite interactions.