Open AccessDrosophilaas a model for antiviral immunity
Author(s) -
Jinghuan Wang
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
world journal of biological chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1949-8454
DOI - 10.4331/wjbc.v1.i5.151
Subject(s) - drosophila melanogaster , drosophila (subgenus) , immunity , rna interference , biology , model organism , autophagy , immune system , virology , rna , immunology , genetics , gene , apoptosis
The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been successfully used to study numerous biological processes including immune response. Flies are naturally infected with more than twenty RNA viruses making it a valid model organism to study host-pathogen interactions during viral infections. The Drosophila antiviral immunity includes RNA interference, activation of the JAK/STAT and other signaling cascades and other mechanisms such as autophagy and interactions with other microorganisms. Here we review Drosophila as an immunological research model as well as recent advances in the field of Drosophila antiviral immunity.