A new study in Scientific Reports by Dr. Urmila Maitra, Mr. Michael Scaglione, Dr. Stanislava Chtarbanova, and Dr. Janis O’Donnell used transcriptomic profiling in a Drosophila Parkinson’s Disease model in response to paraquat-induced oxidative stress. Their results revealed extensive regulation of innate immune response genes following paraquat ingestion. This work provides a novel link between paraquat exposure and innate immune system modulation underlying environmental toxin-induced neurodegeneration, demonstrating the importance of the innate immune system in Parkinson’s Disease pathogenesis.