BACKGROUND Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small proteins with potent antibacterial,
antiviral, and antifungal activity. AMPs are ubiquitous among multicellular eukaryotes, with …

Insects are one of the major sources of antimicrobial peptides/proteins (AMPs). Since
observation of antimicrobial activity in the hemolymph of pupae from the giant silk moths …

Life history theory seeks to explain the evolution of the major features of life cycles by
analyzing the ecological factors that shape age-specific schedules of growth, reproduction …

A host can evolve two types of defence mechanism to increase its fitness when challenged
with a pathogen: resistance and tolerance. Immunology is a well-defined field in which the …

Animals live together with diverse bacteria that can impact their biology. In Drosophila
melanogaster, gut-associated bacterial communities are relatively simple in composition but …

Animals are colonized by coevolved bacterial communities, which contribute to the host's
health. This commensal microbiota is often highly specific to its host-species, inferring strong …

Infectious diseases have been paramount among the threats to health and survival
throughout human evolutionary history. Natural selection is therefore expected to act …

Genes directly involved in male/female and host/parasite interactions are believed to be
under positive selection. The flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana has more than 300 …

The study of infection and immunity in insects has achieved considerable prominence with
the appreciation that their host defense mechanisms share many fundamental …

Fungi share a diverse co-evolutionary history with animals, especially arthropods. In this
review, we focus on the role of secondary metabolism in driving antagonistic arthropod …