Understanding Host-Pathogen Interactions With the Use of Galleria mellonella

Abstract

The Galleria mellonella; the larvae of the Greater Wax Moth, is a safe and effective means to study host-pathogen interactions in the undergraduate setting. The use of animal models in the teaching classroom provides an opportunity to discuss proper animal use and the benefits of alternative model systems in research. In this lesson, we developed a laboratory experience for students to learn about the use of G. mellonella as a model to study bacterial virulence. Students evaluate the virulence of a suite of microbes by injecting larvae and analyzing their survival over time. Students gain the opportunity to reinforce basic microbiology techniques such as aseptic technique and bacterial enumeration, while learning about new methods involving animal use in research. Students learn how to report their data using survival plots. More importantly, this lesson gives students a hands-on experience working with an in vivo system and complements discussions of innate immunity and bacterial virulence by providing a visual and quantitative approach to the study of virulence. Citation: Santiago-Narvaez B. 2021. Understanding host-pathogen interactions with the use of Galleria mellonella. CourseSource. https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2021.1 Editor: Rachel Horak, American Society for Microbiology Received: 10/4/2020; Accepted: 9/29/2020; Published: 1/26/2021 Copyright: © 2021 Santiago-Narvaez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Conflict of Interest and Funding Statement: The author has no financial, personal, or professional conflict of interest related to this work. Supporting Materials: Supporting Files S1. Host/Pathogen – Reagent List and Materials; S2. Host/Pathogen – G. mellonella Articles; S3. Host/Pathogen – G. mellonella Lab Presentation; S4. Host/Pathogen – G. mellonella Laboratory Exercise Handout; S5. Host/Pathogen – Excel Spreadsheet for Survival Curves; S6. Host/Pathogen – Figure Assignment Instructions; S7. Host/Pathogen – Figure Rubric; S8. Host/Pathogen – Survival Curve Analysis; and S9. Host/Pathogen – Class Data Google Doc Template. *Correspondence to: 1000 Holt Avenue Box 2743 Winter Park, FL 32789. Email: bsantiagonarvaez@rollins.edu. CourseSource | www.coursesource.org 2020 | Volume 07 1 Lesson