Sensing infection in Drosophila: Toll and beyond

Drosophila has evolved a potent immune system that is somewhat adapted to the nature of infections through the selective activation of either one of two NF-kappa B-like signalling pathways, the Toll and IMD (Immune deficiency) pathways. In contrast to the mammalian system, the Toll receptor does not act as a pattern recognition receptor (PRR) but as a cytokine receptor. The sensing of microbial infections is achieved by at least four PRRs that belong to two distinct families: the peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) and the Gram-negative binding proteins (GNBPs)/beta-glucan recognition proteins (beta GRPs).