An example of the effect of diet quality on the immune system of an infected insect: Uresiphita gilvata (FABRICIUS, 1794)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the changes in cellular and humoral immunity of Uresiphita gilvata larvae fed with diets containing different amounts of protein and carbohydrate and infected with Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki. In this context, it has been determined how diet contents and infection affect superoxide dismutase (SOD), manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), phenoloxidase (PO) enzyme activities and total hemocyte counts of larvae. For this purpose, four different diets were prepared by changing the amounts of protein and carbohydrate. Except for the control groups, other groups were infected with bacteria. In control and infected groups, superoxide dismutase and manganese superoxide dismutase enzymes showed the highest activity in the groups with the highest amount of protein. The catalase enzyme showed inhibition in all infected groups compared to control groups. As the amount of protein in the control groups increased, the phenoloxidase enzyme was found to be activated. It was found that the number of hemocytes decreased with infection (except H). Larvae exposed to infection and diet imbalance try to protect themselves with both cellular and humoral defense to combat these negativities.