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Summary: The G protein-coupled receptor FSHR-1 is required for
the Caenorhabditis elegans innate immune response
Jennifer R. Powella,b,c
, Dennis H. Kima,b,1
, and Frederick M. Ausubela,b,c,2
aDepartment of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115; and bDepartment of Molecular Biology, and cCenter for
Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
Contributed by Frederick M. Ausubel, December 22, 2008 (sent for review September 1, 2008)
Innate immunity is an ancient defense system used by both verte-
brates and invertebrates. Previously characterized innate immune
responses in plants and animals are triggered by detection of patho-
gens using specific receptors, which typically use a leucine-rich repeat
(LRR) domain to bind molecular patterns associated with infection.
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans uses defense pathways con-
served with vertebrates; however, the mechanism by which C. el-
egans detects pathogens is unknown. We screened all LRR-containing
transmembrane receptors in C. elegans and identified the G protein-
coupled receptor FSHR-1 as an important component of the C. elegans
immune response to Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial
pathogens. FSHR-1 acts in the C. elegans intestine, the primary site of
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