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Nature Reviews Microbiology 7, 839 (1 December 2009) | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2264

Host response: Damage repair

Christiaan van Ooij

Bacteria are present in large numbers in the intestines of many animals, but how the host maintains the integrity of its tissues in the presence of these bacteria is still poorly understood. In a recent issue of Genes & Development, Buchon and colleagues show that repair of the intestinal epithelium in Drosophila melanogaster after challenge with foreign bacteria requires an oxidative burst and multiple signalling pathways.