Fig 8. Functional association of four honeybee PLA₂s with immune responses in A. mellifera (‘Am’) and A. cerana (‘Ac’).

Individual RNAi treatments were applied to specifically suppress PLA₂-A using dsPLA₂A, PLA₂-B using dsPLA₂B, PLA₂-C using dsPLA₂C, or PLA₂-D using dsPLA₂D. After 24 h post-injection of dsRNA, the immune challenge was performed by injecting 1 μL of P. larvae (5 × 10⁴ cells) into larvae or adults. Effects of the RNAi treatments on nodule formation (A) and ApoLpⅢ expression (B). GFP was used as a control dsRNA (‘dsCON’). Each treatment was replicated three times. Ribosomal protein gene RL32 was used as an internal control for RT-qPCR.