INS and infection: For instance, females of D. melanogaster Dicer-2 mutants exhibit altered insulin signaling and decreased carbohydrate metabolism, while D. melanogaster mutants for the chico gene (insulin receptor substrate 1) are more susceptible to ZIKV infection due to the downregulation of the RNA interference pathway, highlighting the role of insulin signaling in countering infection (Tafesh-Edwards et al., 2022).