Immunity in Caenorhabditis elegans

Until very recently it was not known whether the invertebrate Caenorhabditis elegans was capable of mounting a specific immune response to protect itself from pathogens. It has only just become clear that this simple nematode in fact possesses a complex innate immune system, involving multiple signalling pathways and an armoury of antimicrobial proteins and peptides. Genetic and microarray approaches are now revealing the molecular cross-talk that exists between the different signalling cascades.