ENCAPSULATION OF PARASITOID EGGS IN PHENOLOXIDASE-DEFICIENT MUTANTS OF DROSOPHILA-MELANOGASTER

Eggs of the parasitoid Leptopilina boulardi, strain L104, are routinely encapsulated by haemocytes in Drosophila melanogaster larvae, and the capsules subsequently melanize. In D. melanogaster mutant strains deficient for phenoloxidase activity, L104 eggs are encapsulated by host haemocytes but the cellular capsules do not melanize and harden. These observations suggest that phenoloxidases are not essential for recognition of nonself and encapsulation of foreign objects in D. melanogaster, but they are required for blackening and hardening of haemocytic capsules. © 1990.