[3] This means that drosomycin, alongside other antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) such as cecropins,[4][5] diptericin,[6] drosocin,[7] metchnikowin[8] and attacin,[9] serves as a first line defence upon septic injury.

However drosomycin is also expressed constitutively to a lesser extent in different tissues and throughout development.

Owing to these four disulfide bridges, drosomycin is resistant to degradation and the action of proteases.

[13] The structure was discovered in 1997 by Landon and his colleagues[14] The αβ motif of drosomycin is also found in a scorpion neurotoxin, and drosomycin potentiates the action of this neurotoxin on nerve excitation.

However, only drosomycin itself is part of the systemic immune response, while the other genes are regulated in different fashions.