Bacteria-derived peptidoglycan triggers an NF-kB dependent response in Drosophila gustatory neurons

Probing the external world is essential for eukaryotes to distinguish beneficial from pathogenic microorganisms. If it is clear that this task falls to the immune cells, recent work shows that neurons can also detect microbes, although the molecules and mechanisms involved are less characterized. In Drosophila, detection of bacteria-derived peptidoglycan by pattern recognition receptor (PRR) of the PGRP family expressed in immune cells, triggers NF-{kappa}B/IMD dependent signaling. We show here that one PGRP protein, called PGRP-LB, is expressed in some probosciss bitter taste neurons. In vivo calcium imaging reveals that the PGRP/IMD pathway is cell-autonomously required in these neurons to transduce the PGN signal. We finally show that NF-{kappa}B/IMD pathway activation in bitter neurons influences fly behavior. This demonstrates that flies use the same bacterial elicitor and signaling module to sense bacterial presence via the peripheral nervous system and trigger an anti-bacterial response in immune-competent cells.