THE HUMORAL ANTIBACTERIAL RESPONSE OF DROSOPHILA

Drosophila, like other insects, responds to the injection of bacteria by the rapid and transient synthesis of a battery of potent antibacter ial peptides. Only a few of these peptides have been fully characteriz ed to date. We review our recent data on the control of the expression of a gene encoding one of the induced peptides, i.e. diptericin. Our data highlight the role of proximal cis-regulatory motifs similar to r egulatory elements binding NF-kappaB and NF-IL6 in promoters of some i mmune genes of mammals. We argue that the Drosophila host defense is h omologous to the mammalian acute phase response.