Drosophila melanogaster as an organism model for studying cystic fibrosis and its major associated microbial infections

Hamadoun Touré (1) , Jean-Louis Herrmann (1, 2) , Sébastien Szuplewski (3) , Fabienne Girard-Misguich (1)

1 2I - Infection et inflammation
2 Hôpital Ambroise Paré [AP-HP]
3 LGBC - Laboratoire de génétique et biologie cellulaire

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a human genetic disease caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene that encodes a chloride channel. The most severe clinical manifestation is associated with chronic pulmonary infections by pathogenic and opportunistic microbes. Drosophila melanogaster has become the invertebrate model of choice for modeling microbial infections and studying the induced innate immune response. Here, we review its contribution to the understanding of infections with six major pathogens associated with CF ( Staphylococcus aureus , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Burkholderia cepacia , Mycobacterium abscessus , Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Aspergillus fumigatus ) together with the perspectives opened by the recent availability of two CF models in this model organism.

Keywords: CFTR; Drosophila; ENaC; Mycobacterium abscessus; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Staphylococcus aureus; Cystic fibrosis

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]

Hamadoun Touré, Jean-Louis Herrmann, Sébastien Szuplewski, Fabienne Girard-Misguich. Drosophila melanogaster as an organism model for studying cystic fibrosis and its major associated microbial infections. Infection and Immunity, 2023, ⟨10.1128/iai.00240-23⟩. ⟨hal-04257464v2⟩