Toll‐deficient Drosophila is susceptible to Pythium insidiosum infection |
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| Authors: | Régis A. Zanette Janio M. Santurio Érico S. Loreto Sydney H. Alves Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Graduate Program in Pharmacology, Federal University of Santa Maria, , Santa Maria, RS, 97105‐900 Brazil;2. Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, , Houston, TX, 77030 USA |
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| Abstract: | There is a paucity of animal models of pythiosis, a life‐threatening disease of humans and animals, the immunopathogenesis of which is poorly understood. A pythiosis model was developed by injecting Toll (Tl)‐deficient Drosophila melanogaster flies with Pythium insidiosum zoospores. The infected Tl mutant flies had significantly lower survival rates (73.7%) than did control flies. This study reveals the important role of Tl pathway activation in fly immune response to pythiosis. |
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| Keywords: | mini‐host models pythiosis Toll receptors |
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