Our knowledge regarding pathogen recognition by innate immune receptors and their role in immunity and pathogenesis has grown exponentially over the past decade. The importance of this topic has been confirmed by the awarding of the Nobel Prize to the discoverers of the Toll-like receptors and dendritic cells. The set of articles proposed for this "Snapshot" of the current field will examine the role of these pattern recognition receptors in induction of innate and acquired protective immunity toward pathogens and their role in both the pathology seen with diseases as well as microbial pathogenesis and potential evasion from these mechanisms of immunity.

The vast majority of, if not all, pathogens have components that are recognized by surface or intracellular pattern recognition receptors, these include bacteria of course, viruses, fungi and parasites. Most data pertains to bacteria, but the fields of virology, mycology and parasitology are now also burgeoning with data regarding the role of these receptors in both preventing infection and induction of immune-pathogenesis of these organisms. Moreover, there is recent data for some pathogens that are immune-subversive, containing mechanisms that either subvert or inhibit protective signalling normally induced by pathogen associated molecular patters. This research topic also aims to cover this subject matter.

All type of articles may be submitted for this Research Topic. Submissions can be done either at Editorial tracking system or through mail to genomics@geneticsjournals.com

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Kathy Andrews
Managing Editor
Journal of Genomics & Gene Study