Innate Immunity of Plants, Animals and Humans

All living organisms are in a constant battle against their environment. Since uncontained microorganisms would simply overgrow all higher animals, the evolution of multicellular organisms required adequate and efficient defense mechanisms to protect their own integrity and to ensure their own survival. These defense mechanisms, encompassing receptor proteins that sense the presence of pathogens and effector molecules that are involved in controlling them, are the elemental parts of the inn...