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Drosophila melanogaster Larva Injection Protocol
Published on: October 19, 2021
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Pathogen-induced damage in Drosophila: Uncoupling disease tolerance from resistance
Priscilla A Akyaw1,2,3,4, Tânia F Paulo1, Elvira Lafuente1,3,4
1Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Plos Pathogens
|September 19, 2025
Summary
Disease tolerance mechanisms, which help hosts recover without directly fighting pathogens, are poorly understood. This study used fruit flies to investigate disease tolerance, revealing its complex interactions with resistance and host factors.
Area of Science:
- * Immunology and host-pathogen interactions.
- * Invertebrate models for studying disease mechanisms.
Background:
- * Host immune responses are categorized into resistance (pathogen elimination) and disease tolerance (host recovery without pathogen control).
- * Mechanisms of disease tolerance are less understood compared to resistance, partly due to their complex interplay during infection.
- * Disentangling these mechanisms is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of host defense strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To differentiate and investigate disease tolerance mechanisms from resistance mechanisms.
- * To utilize a novel experimental approach in *Drosophila melanogaster* to isolate disease tolerance.
- * To explore the factors influencing disease tolerance, including bacterial virulence and host microbiota.
Main Methods:
- * Oral exposure of *Drosophila melanogaster* to heat-killed *Pseudomonas entomophila* (HK *P. entomophila*).
- * Assessment of host mortality, fecundity, and fitness-related traits.
- * Investigation of the role of the Imd pathway and host microbiota in the response to HK bacteria.
Main Results:
- * Oral exposure to HK *P. entomophila* induced mortality and reduced fecundity in *D. melanogaster*, demonstrating a fitness cost.
- * The observed fitness reduction was dependent on exposure duration, sex, and bacterial virulence.
- * The host microbiota exacerbated the negative effects of HK *P. entomophila* exposure, and the Imd pathway was implicated in survival, not effector genes.
Conclusions:
- * The experimental framework using heat-killed bacteria effectively isolates and studies disease tolerance mechanisms.
- * Disease tolerance is a complex process influenced by host factors like microbiota and genetic pathways (Imd pathway).
- * This research provides a foundation for understanding the molecular and physiological basis of disease tolerance and its interaction with resistance.
