Immune-neuroendocrine biology of invertebrates: a collection of methods

Authors

  • L Ballarin Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
  • M Cammarata Marine Immunobiology Laboratory, Department of Animal Biology, University of Palermo, Italy
  • F Cima Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
  • A Grimaldi Department of Structural and Functional Biology, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
  • S Lorenzon Department of Biological Oceanography, National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics, Trieste, Italy
  • D Malagoli Department of Animal Biology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
  • E Ottaviani Department of Animal Biology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

Keywords:

morphology, laboratory techniques, immunity, neuroendocrinology

Abstract

In the last decade there has been a considerable increase of interest towards the elucidation of
several aspects of invertebrate biology, including immunity and neuroendocrinology. However, due to
the difficulties connected to the great variety of morphology and adaptations displayed by
invertebrates, and also in consideration of the number of techniques that are applied in the various
laboratories, research on invertebrates still suffers from hampering that have been substantially
overcome in vertebrate models, especially in mammals. The aim of this Technical Report is to provide
the reader a useful list of well-established morphological and morpho-functional protocols in order to
facilitate the design and make more homogeneous the realization of experiments in the field of
invertebrate immune-neuroendocrinology.

Downloads

Published

2008-12-05

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 2 (2008)

Section

Technical Reports