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Ips is a genus of beetles in the family Curculionidae, the true weevils. They are bark beetles, members of the subfamily Scolytinae. Species are distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Some are known as introduced species in Australia and Africa. Many species are pests of forest trees, especially pines and spruces. They are known commonly as engraver beetles,ips engraver beetles, and pine engravers.

Description

Beetles of this genus are cylindrical in shape, 3 to 6.5 millimeters long, and reddish to black in color. The back end of the elytra is concave, and there is a ridge of 3 to 6 large spines on either side of the depression. The number and shape of the spines help to distinguish the species from one another. The genus is distinguished from other groups in the tribe Ipini by the flat, oval shape of the clubs at the tips of the antennae and by details of the concavity in the elytra and of the male genitalia.

The oblong white eggs are up to a millimeter long. The grub-like larvae are whitish with reddish heads and lack legs.

Mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MAVS gene. The protein is also known by the names VISA (virus-induced signaling adapter), IPS-1 and Cardif. Aggregated MAVS forms protease resistant prion-like aggregates that activate IRF3 dimerization.

Function

Double-stranded RNA viruses are recognized in a cell type-dependent manner by the transmembrane receptor TLR3 or by the cytoplasmic RNA helicases MDA5 and RIGI. These interactions initiate signaling pathways that differ in their initial steps but converge in the activation of the protein kinases IKKA (CHUK) and IKKB (IKBKB; MIM 603258), which activate NFKB, or TBK1 and IKBKE (IKBKE), which activate IRF3. Activated IRF3 and NFKB induce transcription of IFNβ (IFNB1). For the TLR3 pathway, the intermediary molecule before the pathways converge is the cytoplasmic protein TRIF (TICAM1). For RIGI, the intermediary protein is mitochondria-bound MAVS.