Lactobacillus plantarum Gives Drosophila the Grow Signal

Human gut bacteria are implicated in normal metabolism as well as in diseases including diabetes and obesity. In this issue of Cell Metabolism, Storelli et al. (2011) report that a single Drosophila gut species, Lactobacillus plantarum, can promote larval growth by modulating TOR and hormonal growth signaling pathways, thereby providing an ideal duo for study of host-microbe interactions