... functions in dorsal–ventral patterning in earlyembryonic development and in the antimicrobial immune response in larvae and adults. We have investigated the function of Spaătzle in a lepidopteran insect, ... conserved in the immune system of a lepidopteran insect, suggesting that a cytokine- activated Toll path-way is an ancient feature of innate immunity in insects.Although the families of extracellular ... lepidopteran insect, Manduca sexta Chunju An1, Haobo Jiang2 and Michael R. Kanost11 Department of Biochemistry, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA2 Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology,...