Article

Of model hosts and man: using Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster and Galleria mellonella as model hosts for infectious disease research.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Advances in experimental medicine and biology (impact factor: 1.09). 01/2012; 710:11-7. DOI:10.1007/978-1-4419-5638-5_2
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT The use of invertebrate model hosts has increased in popularity due to numerous advantages of invertebrates over mammalian models, including ethical, logistical and budgetary features. This review provides an introduction to three model hosts, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the larvae of Galleria mellonella, the greater wax moth. It highlights principal experimental advantages of each model, for C. elegans the ability to run high-throughput assays, for D. melanogaster the evolutionarily conserved innate immune response, and for G. mellonella the ability to conduct experiments at 37°C and easily inoculate a precise quantity of pathogen. It additionally discusses recent research that has been conducted with each host to identify pathogen virulence factors, study the immune response, and evaluate potential antimicrobial compounds, focusing principally on fungal pathogens.

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Keywords

budgetary features
 
conduct experiments
 
Drosophila melanogaster
 
evolutionarily conserved innate immune response
 
Galleria mellonella
 
greater wax moth
 
high-throughput assays
 
immune response
 
invertebrate model hosts
 
mammalian models
 
model hosts
 
nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
 
numerous advantages
 
pathogen virulence factors
 
potential antimicrobial compounds
 
precise quantity
 
principal experimental advantages
 

Justin Glavis-Bloom