Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Apr 26:3:893494.
doi: 10.3389/ffunb.2022.893494. eCollection 2022.

Galleria mellonella Larvae as a Model for Investigating Fungal-Host Interactions

Affiliations
Review

Galleria mellonella Larvae as a Model for Investigating Fungal-Host Interactions

Aaron Curtis et al. Front Fungal Biol. .

Abstract

Galleria mellonella larvae have become a widely accepted and utilised infection model due to the functional homology displayed between their immune response to infection and that observed in the mammalian innate immune response. Due to these similarities, comparable results to murine studies can be obtained using G. mellonella larvae in assessing the virulence of fungal pathogens and the in vivo toxicity or efficacy of anti-fungal agents. This coupled with their low cost, rapid generation of results, and lack of ethical/legal considerations make this model very attractive for analysis of host-pathogen interactions. The larvae of G. mellonella have successfully been utilised to analyse various fungal virulence factors including toxin and enzyme production in vivo providing in depth analysis of the processes involved in the establishment and progression of fungal pathogens (e.g., Candida spps, Aspergillus spp., Madurella mycetomatis, Mucormycetes, and Cryptococcus neoformans). A variety of experimental endpoints can be employed including analysis of fungal burdens, alterations in haemocyte density or sub-populations, melanisation, and characterisation of infection progression using proteomic, histological or imaging techniques. Proteomic analysis can provide insights into both sides of the host-pathogen interaction with each respective proteome being analysed independently following infection and extraction of haemolymph from the larvae. G. mellonella can also be employed for assessing the efficacy and toxicity of antifungal strategies at concentrations comparable to those used in mammals allowing for early stage investigation of novel compounds and combinations of established therapeutic agents. These numerous applications validate the model for examination of fungal infection and development of therapeutic approaches in vivo in compliance with the need to reduce animal models in biological research.

Keywords: Aspergillus; Candida; Cryptococcus; Galleria mellonella; fungal infection; in vivo; innate immunity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structural similarities of the insect and mammalian Toll pathways.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic overview of experimental end-points when using G. mellonella larvae as an infection model.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Melanisation of larvae infected with three doses of A. fumigatus conidia over 96 h.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Method for extraction of haemolymph from Galleria larva by piercing the second left proleg.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Histological examination of G. mellonella larvae infected with Mucor circinelloides. Larvae were fixed in formalin 72 h after infection, embedded in paraffin. Tissue sections were prepared at a thickness of 3.0 μm and stained with Grocott silver stain to optimise visualisation of fungal elements. When larvae are incubated at 30°C (A), germlings and hyphal elements are detected in higher abundance than when incubated at 37°C (B).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Cryoviz visualisation of the stages of invasive and disseminated aspergillosis in G. mellonella larvae after 6 and 24 h infection. Larvae were inoculated with 1 × 106 A. fumigatus conidia and embedded in Cryo-imaging embedding compound and sectioned (10 μm) using a Cryoviz™ cryo-imaging system (Fungal nodules—black arrows; cuticle melanisation- white arrows; point of inoculation—white edged black arrow) (Image courtesy of Dr. Gerard Sheehan).

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Al Abdallah Q., Choe S., Campoli P., Baptista S., Gravelat F., Lee M., et al. . (2012). A conserved C-Terminal domain of the Aspergillus fumigatus developmental regulator MedA is required for nuclear localization, adhesion and virulence. PLoS ONE 7, e49959. 10.1371/journal.pone.0049959 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Amorim-Vaz S., Tran V. D. T., Pradervand S., Pagni M., Coste A. T., Sanglard D. (2015). RNA enrichment method for quantitative transcriptional analysis of pathogens in vivo to the fungus Candida albicans. mBio 6, e00942–15. 10.1128/mBio.00942-15 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Astvad K., Meletiadis J., Whalley S., Arendrup M. (2017). Fluconazole pharmacokinetics in Galleria mellonella larvae and performance evaluation of a bioassay compared to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for hemolymph specimens. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 61, e00895-17. 10.1128/AAC.00895-17 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bergin D., Reeves E. P., Renwick J., Wientjes F. B., Kavanagh K. (2005). Superoxide production in haemocytes of Galleria mellonella – identification of proteins homologous to the NADPH oxidase complex of human neutrophils. Infect. Immun. 73, 4161–4173. 10.1128/IAI.73.7.4161-4170.2005 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Binder U., Aigner M., Risslegger B., Hörtnagl C., Lass-Flörl C., Lackner M. (2019). Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC)-phenomena in Candida albicans and their impact on the diagnosis of antifungal resistance. J. Fungi 5, 83. 10.3390/jof5030083 - DOI - PMC - PubMed