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Parasite‐specific immune response in adult Drosophila melanogaster: a genomic study
Author(s) -
RoxströmLindquist Katarina,
Terenius Olle,
Faye Ingrid
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
embo reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.584
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1469-3178
pISSN - 1469-221X
DOI - 10.1038/sj.embor.7400073
Subject(s) - biology , drosophila melanogaster , immune system , proteases , gene , parasite hosting , microbiology and biotechnology , antiparasitic , leishmania , virology , genetics , enzyme , biochemistry , world wide web , computer science , medicine , pathology
Insects of the order Diptera are vectors for parasitic diseases such as malaria, sleeping sickness and leishmania. In the search for genes encoding proteins involved in the antiparasitic response, we have used the protozoan parasite Octosporea muscaedomesticae for oral infections of adult Drosophila melanogaster . To identify parasite‐specific response molecules, other flies were exposed to virus, bacteria or fungi in parallel. Analysis of gene expression patterns after 24 h of microbial challenge, using Affymetrix oligonucleotide microarrays, revealed a high degree of microbe specificity. Many serine proteases, key intermediates in the induction of insect immune responses, were uniquely expressed following infection of the different organisms. Several lysozyme genes were induced in response to Octosporea infection, while in other treatments they were not induced or downregulated. This suggests that lysozymes are important in antiparasitic defence.