Science 2003 Dec;302(5653):2126-30
Unité Propre de Recherche 9022 du CNRS, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, 15 rue René Descartes, F67084 Strasbourg Cedex, France.
The Toll-dependent defense against Gram-positive bacterial infections in Drosophila is mediated through the peptidoglycan recognition protein SA (PGRP-SA). A mutation termed osiris disrupts the Gram-negative binding protein 1 (GNBP1) gene and leads to compromised survival of mutant flies after Gram-positive infections, but not after fungal or Gram-negative bacterial challenge. Our results demonstrate that GNBP1 and PGRP-SA can jointly activate the Toll pathway. The potential for a combination of distinct proteins to mediate detection of infectious nonself in the fly will refine the concept of pattern recognition in insects.