Interestingly, this transcriptional pulse was not mirrored by changes in PPO activity or hemocyte counts (Fig. 4), consistent with distinct activation kinetics among immune components: PPO/PO-mediated melanization and hemocyte-driven phagocytosis are typically rapid inducible upon infection, while AMPs synthesis is often slower28,64 and may require earlier transcriptional priming. Here, PPOX is linked to infection.