Toll (gene)

The toll genes encode members of the toll-like receptor class of proteins. Mutants in the toll gene were originally identified by 1995 Nobel Laureates Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Eric Wieschaus and colleagues in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster in 1985, and cloned by the laboratory of Kathryn Anderson in 1988. Since then, thirteen mammalian toll genes have been identified.

In flies, toll was first identified as a gene important in embryogenesis in establishing the dorsal-ventral axis. In 1996, toll was found to have a role in the fly's immunity to fungal infections. Both mammalian and invertebrate toll genes are required for innate immunity.

Toll-like receptors in mammals were identified in 1997 at Yale University by Ruslan Medzhitov and Charles Janeway. Concurrently, two separate studies, led by Shizuo Akira, Bruce A. Beutler and their respective colleagues discovered that the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) act as the principal sensors of infection in mammals.

The name of the gene family derives from Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard's 1985 exclamation, "Das ist ja toll!" The exclamation, which translates as "That's amazing!" was in reference to the underdeveloped ventral portion of a fruit fly larva. The adjective "" is German for "amazing" or "great".

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