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Daphnia galeata responds to the exposure to an ichthyosporean gut parasite by down-regulation of immunity and lipid metabolism
Summary
Water fleas (Daphnia) infected by a gut parasite were found to suppress their immune response and reduce fat metabolism, likely to redirect energy toward surviving the infection. While focused on parasite-host interactions, this work is relevant because microplastics can similarly stress immune systems in aquatic invertebrates.
General metabolic suppression implies host energy shift from reproduction to survival, which is in agreement with the known drastic reduction in Daphnia fecundity after Caullerya infection. The down-regulation of gut chitin indicates a possible interaction between the peritrophic matrix and the evading host immune system. Our study provides the first description of host transcriptional responses in this very promising host-parasite experimental system.
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