The complexity of vertebrate models limits elucidation of the factors and pathways underlying primary host defense responses to pathogen challenge. Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) has emerged as an ideal model organism to study the genetic control of immune recognition and response, due to the high degree of conservation between the fly and mammalian innate immune systems along with its genetic tractability and simplicity. 60 % of all human genes, and 75 % of disease-associated genes, have equivalents, or orthologs, in Drosophila. As a simpler genetic organism, Drosophila has allowed the multiple biological functions of a few signaling pathways to be examined in the whole organism. For more than 100 years,  Drosophila  has played a starring role in biomedical research, earning scientists six Nobel prizes to date.

The Rahme Lab utilizes Drosophila melanogaster to uncover pathogen factors and host genes that can promote or limit the initiation and progression of infection, with the ultimate goal to better understand and control human-bacterial pathogenesis. We have identified both pathogen factors and mechanisms, and host defense strategies and pathway components, that respectively promote and restrict P. aeruginosa virulence in mammals.