Genetic determinants of antiviral immunity in dipteran insects – Compiling the experimental evidence.

The genetic basis of antiviral immunity in dipteran insects is extensively studied in Drosophila melanogaster and advanced technologies for genetic manipulation allow a better characterization of immune responses also in non-model insect species. Especially, immunity in vector mosquitoes is recently in the spotlight, due to the medical impact that these insects have by transmitting viruses and other pathogens. Here, we review the current state of experimental evidence that supports antiviral functions for immune genes acting in different cellular pathways. We discuss the well-characterized RNA interference mechanism along with the less well-defined JAK-STAT, Toll, and IMD signaling pathways. Furthermore, we highlight the initial evidence for antiviral activity observed for the autophagy pathway, transcriptional pausing, as well as piRNA production from endogenous viral elements. We focus our review on studies from Drosophila and mosquito species from the lineages Aedes , Culex , and Anopheles , which contain major vector species responsible for virus transmission. • Antiviral responses in dipteran insects are mediated by several immune pathways. • Small RNA pathways as well as inducible immune responses act in antiviral defense. • Experimental manipulation of immune genes is a direct way to assess antiviral activity. • This review gives an overview of the experimental evidence for antiviral functions of immune genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]