A Drosophila model for infection-induced loss of intestinal barrier function and homeostasis

We have characterized a novel bacterium, Chromobacterium subtsugae, as a new model organism to study the dynamics of gut disease. C. subtsugae triggers a potent immune response and initially initiates epithelial renewal pathways important for recovery. However, our findings indicate this early epithelial damage eventually leads to improper repair and loss of whole-organism homeostasis. This new infection model expands our understanding of microbial perturbations to epithelium renewal and provides a system for a detailed investigation of epithelium dynamics in D. melanogaster, as it exhibits a unique host response compared to previously