Using the wax moth larva Galleria mellonella infection model to detect emerging bacterial pathogens

PeerJ

Andrea J. Dowling¹  Elze Hesse¹  Will H. Gaze²  Michiel Vos²  Rafael J. Hernandez³  Nicola M. Coyle⁴  Edward J. Feil⁴ 

[1] Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK;European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK;Stony Brook School of Medicine, Department of Global Medical Education, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA;The Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, UK;

关键词: Virulence;    Emerging infectious diseases;    Antibiotic resistance;    Galleria mellonella;    Pathogens;    Proteus mirabilis;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.6150

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Climate change, changing farming practices, social and demographic changes and rising levels of antibiotic resistance are likely to lead to future increases in opportunistic bacterial infections that are more difficult to treat. Uncovering the prevalence and identity of pathogenic bacteria in the environment is key to assessing transmission risks. We describe the first use of the Wax moth larva Galleria mellonella, a well-established model for the mammalian innate immune system, to selectively enrich and characterize pathogens from coastal environments in the South West of the UK. Whole-genome sequencing of highly virulent isolates revealed amongst others a Proteus mirabilis strain carrying the Salmonella SGI1 genomic island not reported from the UK before and the recently described species Vibrio injenensis hitherto only reported from human patients in Korea. Our novel method has the power to detect bacterial pathogens in the environment that potentially pose a serious risk to public health.

【 授权许可】

Unknown