Cultivated bivalve mollusks—mainly the Pacific cupped oyster Crassostrea gigas, American cupped oyster C. virginica, and native oyster Ostrea edulis, blue mussel Mytilus edulis, and Mediterranean mussel M. galloprovincialis—suffer from various infectious diseases (caused by protozoa, bacteria, and viruses) that threaten their production. Invertebrates do not possess an acquired immunity equivalent to that of vertebrates; however, they do possess a highly efficient defense system. To understand their innate immune reactions would provide useful tools for both disease prevention and genetic selection. In an attempt to explain immunity in bivalve mollusks, we focused on the antimicrobial activity mediated by peptides.
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