Galleria mellonella as an alternative infection model for Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

Abstract

We report that larvae of the wax moth (Galleria mellonella) are susceptible to infection with the human enteropathogenYersinia pseudotuberculosisat 37 °C. Confocal microscopy demonstrated that in the initial stages of infection the bacteria were taken up into haemocytes. To evaluate the utility of this model for screeningY. pseudotuberculosismutants we constructed and tested a superoxide dismutase C (sodC) mutant. This mutant showed increased susceptibility to superoxide, a key mechanism of killing in insect haemocytes and mammalian phagocytes. It showed reduced virulence in the murine yersiniosis infection model and in contrast to the wild-type strain IP32953 was unable to killG. mellonella. The complemented mutant regained all phenotypic properties associated with SodC, confirming the important role of this metalloenzyme in twoY. pseudotuberculosisinfection models.