Wang, X.H., Aliyari, R., Li, W.X., Li, H.W., Kim, K., Carthew, R., Atkinson, P., Ding, S.W. (2006). RNA interference directs innate immunity against viruses in adult Drosophila. Science 312(5772): 452--454.
FlyBase ID
FBrf0190618
Publication Type
Research paper
Abstract
Innate immunity against bacterial and fungal pathogens is mediated by Toll and immune deficiency (Imd) pathways, but little is known about the antiviral response in Drosophila. Here, we demonstrate that an RNA interference pathway protects adult flies from infection by two evolutionarily diverse viruses. Our work also describes a molecular framework for the viral immunity, in which viral double-stranded RNA produced during infection acts as the pathogen trigger whereas Drosophila Dicer-2 and Argonaute-2 act as host sensor and effector, respectively. These findings establish a Drosophila model for studying the innate immunity against viruses in animals.
