Abstract: Tuberculosis reestablishes as a predominant threat to human beings. Several factors including multidrug resistance, persistence and co-infection with HIV contributed to its rampancy. More sophisticated understanding of the basic biology of its pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the immune response of human beings will be the cornerstone of tuberculosis control and eradication. No single animal model can fully address the magnitudes of its pathogenesis. Integrating knowledge from diverse animal models can be insightful. Drosophila is ideal to address the innate immune response to tuberculosis. Immune response pathway, components of immune response pathway and related negative regulatory factors in Drosophila were reviewed. The major findings employing Mycobacterium infection, especially M. marinum, M. fortuitum and M. smegmatis to challenge Drosophila were summarized. Copious studies demonstrated that no antimicrobial peptides were significantly induced, and multiple host factors such as CD36 family member and ESCRT were involved in the host response. Beta-hexosaminidase related to killing Mycobacterium was identified. Energy metabolism related genes were differentially regulated during infection. These might be helpful to the identification of novel anti-tuberculosis drug targets and lead discovery via the facile Drosophila model.

Key words: Drosophila, immune, tuberculosis, Mycobacterium, bacterial infection