Parasitoid wasp venom SERCA regulates Drosophila calcium levels and inhibits cellular immunity.

ABSTRACT: Because parasite virulence factors target host immune responses, identification and functional characterization of these factors can provide insight into poorly understood host immune mechanisms. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a model system for understanding humoral innate immunity, but Drosophila cellular innate immune responses remain incompletely characterized. Fruit flies are regularly infected by parasitoid wasps in nature and, following infection, flies mount a cellular immune response culminating in the cellular encapsulation of the wasp egg. The mechanistic basis of this response is largely unknown, but wasps use a mixture of virulence proteins derived from the venom gland to suppress cellular encapsulation. To gain insight into the mechanisms underlying wasp virulence a

SUBMITTER: Mortimer NT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3677475 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature