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

Area of Science:

• Environmental microbiology
• Infectious disease epidemiology
• Innate immunity research

Background:

• Opportunistic bacterial infections are increasing due to climate change, altered farming, and antibiotic resistance.
• Identifying environmental pathogens is critical for understanding disease transmission risks.
• Current methods for environmental pathogen detection can be limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel method for detecting and characterizing environmental bacterial pathogens.
• To utilize the wax moth larva (Galleria mellonella) as a model for pathogen enrichment.
• To assess the prevalence of potentially harmful bacteria in UK coastal environments.

Main Methods:

• Employing Galleria mellonella larvae, a model for mammalian innate immunity, to selectively enrich bacterial pathogens.
• Collecting samples from coastal environments in the South West of the UK.
• Utilizing whole-genome sequencing to identify and characterize the enriched bacterial isolates.

Main Results:

• The wax moth larva model successfully enriched and identified pathogenic bacteria from environmental samples.
• A Proteus mirabilis strain carrying the Salmonella SGI1 genomic island, new to the UK, was identified.
• The species Vibrio injenensis, previously only reported in Korea, was detected.
• Highly virulent isolates were characterized, indicating significant public health potential.

Conclusions:

• The wax moth larva is an effective tool for the selective enrichment and characterization of environmental bacterial pathogens.
• This novel approach enhances the detection of bacteria posing risks to public health.
• The findings highlight the presence of potentially dangerous pathogens in UK coastal environments, necessitating further surveillance.