
Oral Biology
The Ohio State University College of Dentistry (Columbus, OH)
The Drosophila killing model has been successfully used to characterize host-microbe interactions of bacterial, fungal and parasite pathogens, however its usefulness for studying oral pathogens, many of which are obligate anaerobic and grow optimally at 37 degrees, is unknown. Our studies are focused on the evaluation of the pathogenicity of P. gingivalis in this animal model, the identification of P. gingivalis components that play a role in Drosophila killing, the identification of Drosophila components that are involved in the immune response to P. gingivalis infection, and the exploration of interesting host-pathogen interactions that we have encountered along the way.

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