Insect immunity: the guardian of homeostasis and symbiosis
The study of insect immune defenses has fascinated scientists since the emergence of germ theory in the 19th century. Early interest centered around their role in transmitting human diseases, protecting economically important species like honey bees and silkworms, exploiting pathogens for biological pest control, and using insects as models to understand broader immune mechanisms.
Over the past century, scientific advancements have led to a deep and coherent understanding of insect immune systems, including the molecular recognition of pathogens, immune signaling pathways, and the effector mechanisms. Genomic and experimental research has revealed conserved immune strategies shared across diverse organisms, from bacteria to mammals. Despite these insights, important questions regarding the function of immune responses within the complex physiological context of the whole organism remain incompletely understood.
This sixth edition of the prestigious Jacques Monod Conference pushes the field forward by aiming to bridge detailed mechanistic insights with broader biological processes such as tissue homeostasis. Central themes include the activation and regulation of immunity, life cycle-dependent immune dynamics, inter-tissue communication, symbiotic interactions, and the evolutionary ecology of immune responses. Leveraging advances in RNAi, CRISPR/Cas9, and sequencing technologies, the conference emphasizes a shift toward studying insect immunity within natural populations and environmental contexts. This integrative approach offers unique value in expanding our understanding of immune principles not only critical to insect survival but also relevant to broader biological and ecological systems.
Chairperson
Elena Levashina
Max Planck Institue for Infection Biology Vector Biology, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Allemagne
Phone : +493028460223
E-mail : levashina@mpiib-berlin.mpg.de
Vice-chairperson
Anna Zaidman-Rémy
INSA Lyon Laboratoire BF2i/ Département Biotechnologies et Bioinformatique, 20, avenue Albert Einstein, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
Phone : +33472437601
E-mail : anna.zaidman@insa-lyon.fr
((provisional titles)
Keynote lectures:
Jules Hoffmann (Strasbourg, France)
Perspectives in insect immunity
Emily Troemel (San Diego, USA)
Immunity against intracellular infections of the C. elegans intestine
Session 1: Mechanisms of activation and regulation of the immune system
Ronald Van Rij (Nijmegen, The Netherlands)
Antiviral defense in insects: small RNAs and beyond
Dominique Ferrandon (Strasbourg, France)
A key aspect of Toll-mediated host defenses against infections is resilience to secreted microbial toxins
Joao Marques (Strasbourg, France)
The dark side of mosquito immunity: phagocytes promote viral infection
Elena Levashina (Berlin, Germany)
Immune regulation in malaria mosquitoes
Session 2: Regulation and dysregulation of immune responses throughout the life cycle
Tiina Susanna Salminen (Tampere, Finland)
Mitochondrial perturbations enhance cell mediated innate immune responses in Drosophila
Gilles Storelli (Heidelberg, Germany)
Bacterial control of insect gut physiology
Tina Murkerjee (Bangalor, India)
The evolutionary roots of mosquito vector competence: the sensory superpowers
Julien Royet (Marseille, France)
Bacteria sensing by the fly sensory nervous system
Nathalie Stroeymeyt (Bristol, UK)
Organisational immunity in social insects: The role of socio-spatial structure in mitigating epidemic risk
Session 3: Spatio-temporal regulation of immune responses and inter-tissue communication
Jiwon Shim (South Korea)
Immune cells beyond immunity: Drosophila hemocytes in animal physiology
Carla Saleh (Paris, France)
Infection-induced aging as a higher-order immune response
Peter Mergaert (Paris, France)
Role of immunity effectors in the assembly of the gut microbiota in the bean bug Riptortus pedestris
Will Wood (Edinburgh, UK)
Detecting death and damage in Drosophila
Armel Gallet (Nice, France)
How does Drosophila deal and manage intestinal infection by the environmental sporulating bacteria of the Bacillus cereus group?
Session 4: Immunity and symbiosis/Immunité et symbiose
Anna Zaidman-Rémy (Lyon, France)
Insect immune system and bacterial virulence factors in nutritional endosymbiosis
Hassan Salem (Tübingen, Germany)
Fidelity in co-diversified symbiosis
Renata Matos (Lyon, France)
Bacterial influence on host response to malnutrition: role of prophage-induced lysis
Olivier Duron (Montpellier, France)
Rethinking microbiome studies in ticks: escaping the medical bias
Brian Weiss (New Haven, USA)
Tripartite metabolic interactions between the tsetse fly, its endosymbionts, and African trypanosomes mediate disease transmission
Session 5: Ecology and Evolution of insect immune defenses
Sophie Armitage (Berlin, Germany)
Immune defences from the wild to the lab
Greg Hurst (Liverpool, UK)
How insects evolve to rescue males from male-killing bacteria
Yukako Hattori (Kyoto, Japan)
Understanding the ecology and function of Drosophila-associated microbes in natural environments
Lena Wilfert (Ulm, Germany)
Good bug, bad bug - host-pathogen-symbiont interactions in bees
Ann Tate (Nashville, USA)
The evolutionary maintenance of variation in the brakes of innate immune signaling
Notification of acceptance or rejection for the submitted paper will be intimated within 15 working days of abstract submission deadline. If your abstract is accepted, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with instructions for joining the meeting.