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Mulberry pyralid haemocyts, a structural and functional study

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Abstract

The humoral and cellular defenses are crtitical in insects’ immunity. In the present study we focused on individual haemocyt types of mulberry pyralid, Glyphodes pyloalis Walker (Lep.; Pyralidae) and examined them for the first time by light, differential interference contrast, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Like many lepidopterous insects five types of haemocytes were identified; prohaemocytes, plasmatocytes, granulocytes, oenocytoids and spherulocytes. The small, rounded to ovoid cells with homogenous cytoplasm and large nuclei compared to cytoplasm were designated as prohaemocyts. The plasmatocytes were polymorphic and variable in sizes. The oval to spherical cells, with plenty of rough endoplasmic reticula, mitochondria, and microtubules in the cytoplasm were designated as the granulocytes. The oenocytoids were round or spherical with elongated eccentric nucleus and cytoplasm with small mitochondria and few rough endoplasmic reticula. Total haemocyte counts in different larval instars showed that THC increases as the larval age increase. Differential counts of haemocytes revealed the plasmatocytes and granulocytes as the most abundant haemocyte types in comparison with other types.

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Acknowledgements

Our sincere thanks are due to Núcleo de Plataformas Tecnológicas-CPqAM/FIOCRUZ for transmission electron microscopy.

Funding

This study was funded by Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) (Grant number 91003789).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

    R. Khosravi, J. J. Sendi & B. Valizadeh

  2. Department of Silk Research, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

    J. J. Sendi

  3. Centro de Pesquisa Aggeu Magalhães (CPqAM-FIOCRUZ), Lab de Imunopatologia Keizo Asami (LIKA-UFPE), Recife, PE, Brazil

    F. A. Brayner

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  1. R. Khosravi
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  2. J. J. Sendi
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  4. F. A. Brayner
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Correspondence to J. J. Sendi.

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Khosravi, R., Sendi, J.J., Valizadeh, B. et al. Mulberry pyralid haemocyts, a structural and functional study. Int J Trop Insect Sci 41, 75–84 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-020-00177-w

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