Main description:

This book has been cunningly designed to provide an overview of our current knowledge about the innate immune systems of these three types of organisms. It not only covers the innate immune mechanisms and responses of such diverse organisms as plants, Cnidaria, Drosophila, urochordates and zebrafish, but also the major receptor systems in mammalians and humans. It delves too into the central defense mechanisms, antimicrobial peptides and the complement system.

Contents:

Evolution of Resistance Genes in Plants.- The Path Less Explored: Innate Immune Reactions in Cnidarians.- Bug Versus Bug: Humoral Immune Responses in Drosophila melanogaster.- Cellular Immune Responses in Drosophila melanogaster.- Immune Reactions in the Vertebrates' Closest Relatives, the Urochordates.- Innate Immune System of the Zebrafish, Danio rerio.- Toll-Like Receptors in the Mammalian Innate Immune System.- NLRs: a Cytosolic Armory of Microbial Sensors Linked to Human Diseases.- Antimicrobial Peptides as First-Line Effector Molecules of the Human Innate Immune System.- The Complement System in Innate Immunity.