Figure 7. Transcriptional analysis of genes encoding growth hormone associated proteins in G. mellonella following L. monocytogenes infection The expression levels of genes encoding (A) JH-inducible, juvenile hormone binding proteins 1, 2, 3, and 4, JH-epoxide hydrolase 1 and 2, and JH-esterase and (B) ecdysteroid 22-kinase and ecdysteroid-regulated protein, in G. mellonella larvae following injection with virulent L. monocytogenes were determined 4 d after infection by quantitative real time RT-PCR. Significantly induced expression levels are calculated relative to control larvae injected with 0.9% NaCl. Values were normalized against the expression levels of the housekeeping gene 18S rRNA. The experiment was repeated three times with similar results. (JH, juvenile hormone; *P < 0.05; **P < 0.005; ***P < 0.0005).