Publications by Mark Austin Hanson

The Drosophila immunity handbook

Animals possess efficient mechanisms for detecting and neutralizing infection. The application of Drosophila genetics to the study of these mechanisms has generated insights into insect immunity and uncovered general principles of animal host defense. Thes ...

EPFL Press2024

Ecology-relevant bacteria drive the evolution of host antimicrobial peptides in Drosophila

Bruno Lemaitre, Mark Austin Hanson

Antimicrobial peptides are host-encoded immune effectors that combat pathogens and shape the microbiome in plants and animals. However, little is known about how the host antimicrobial peptide repertoire is adapted to its microbiome. Here, we characterized ...

American Association for the Advancement of Science2023

Antimicrobial peptides do not directly contribute to aging in Drosophila, but improve lifespan by preventing dysbiosis

Bruno Lemaitre, Mark Austin Hanson

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are innate immune effectors first studied for their role in host defence. Recent studies have implicated these peptides in the clearance of aberrant cells and in neurodegenerative syndromes. In Drosophila, many AMPs are produc ...

COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD2023

Cecropins contribute to Drosophila host defense against a subset of fungal and Gram-negative bacterial infection

Bruno Lemaitre, Alexia Laurie Carboni, Mark Austin Hanson

Cecropins are small helical secreted peptides with antimicrobial activity that are widely distributed among insects. Genes encoding Cecropins are strongly induced upon infection, pointing to their role in host defense. In Drosophila, four cecropin genes cl ...

OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC2022

Repeated truncation of a modular antimicrobial peptide gene for neural context

Bruno Lemaitre, Mark Austin Hanson

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are host-encoded antibiotics that combat invading pathogens. These genes commonly encode multiple products as post-translationally cleaved polypeptides. Recent studies have highlighted roles for AMPs in neurological contexts s ...

PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE2022

A systematic CRISPR approach to understanding the role of Drosophila antimicrobial peptides in immunity in vivo

Mark Austin Hanson

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are host-encoded antibiotics that combat invading microbes. These short immune effectors are conserved in plants, animals, and fungi. Early work showed that AMPs killed bacteria in generalist fashions in vitro: i.e. AMPs that ...

EPFL2022

Drosophila immunity: the Drosocin gene encodes two host defence peptides with pathogen-specific roles

Bruno Lemaitre, Mark Austin Hanson

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are key to defence against infection in plants and animals. Use of AMP mutations in Drosophila has now revealed that AMPs can additively or synergistically contribute to defence in vivo. However, these studies also revealed hi ...

ROYAL SOC2022

The Drosophila Baramicin polypeptide gene protects against fungal infection

Bruno Lemaitre, Igor Iatsenko, Alice Marra, Mark Austin Hanson

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster combats microbial infection by producing a battery of effector peptides that are secreted into the haemolymph. Technical difficulties prevented the investigation of these short effector genes until the recent advent of ...

2021

Drosophila Antimicrobial Peptides and Lysozymes Regulate Gut Microbiota Composition and Abundance

Bruno Lemaitre, Alice Marra, Mark Austin Hanson

The gut microbiota affects the physiology and metabolism of animals and its alteration can lead to diseases such as gut dysplasia or metabolic disorders. Several reports have shown that the immune system plays an important role in shaping both bacterial co ...

AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY2021

New insights on Drosophila antimicrobial peptide function in host defense and beyond

Bruno Lemaitre, Mark Austin Hanson

Since the first animal antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) were discovered in insects, Drosophila melanogaster has emerged as a powerful model for their characterization. Drosophila AMPs have been used extensively to monitor the activity of the Toll and Imd NF-κ ...

2020

Dynamic Evolution of Antimicrobial Peptides Underscores Trade-Offs Between Immunity and Ecological Fitness

Bruno Lemaitre, Mark Austin Hanson

There is a developing interest in how immune genes may function in other physiological roles, and how traditionally non-immune peptides may, in fact, be active in immune contexts. In the absence of infection, the induction of the immune response is costly, ...

2019

Synergy and remarkable specificity of antimicrobial peptides in vivo using a systematic knockout approach

Bruno Lemaitre, Anna Dostalova, Camilla Carla Alma Ceroni, Mark Austin Hanson

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are host-encoded antibiotics that combat invading microorganisms. These short, cationic peptides have been implicated in many biological processes, primarily involving innate immunity. In vitro studies have shown AMPs kill bac ...

Cambridge University Press2019

More Than Black or White: Melanization and Toll Share Regulatory Serine Proteases in Drosophila

Bruno Lemaitre, Jan Paul Dudzic, Igor Iatsenko, Mark Austin Hanson

The melanization response is an important defense mechanism in arthropods. This reaction is mediated by phenoloxidases (POs), which are activated by complex extracellular serine protease (SP) cascades. Here, we investigate the role of SPs in the melanizati ...

2019