Galleria mellonella as an Antimicrobial Screening Model

Barton, Thomas E, Duignan, Liberty, Kadioglu, Aras ORCID: 0000-0003-1137-6321, Fothergill, Joanne L ORCID: 0000-0002-7012-1508 and Neill, Daniel R (2024) Galleria mellonella as an Antimicrobial Screening Model JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS, 2024-O (212). ISSN 1940-087X, 1940-087X

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Abstract

To combat the rising global issue of antibiotic resistance, the accelerated development of novel antibiotics is essential. Current preclinical antimicrobial development yields a significant number of leads that prove unsuitable either prior to or during clinical trials. To increase the efficiency of preclinical development, relevant, standardized, accessible, and cost-effective models must be developed. Galleria mellonella (greater wax moth) larvae are widely used as an infection model to assess microbial virulence, conduct drug toxicity testing, and serve as a preliminary means of evaluating the in vivo efficacy of novel antimicrobial compounds. These infection models have greater biological relevance than many in vitro screens of comparable throughput and decrease reliance on mammalian models when used as a pre-screen for antimicrobial testing. This protocol describes a standardized methodology for the optimization of G. mellonella infection models, which can be applied to bacterial species and antimicrobial therapeutics of choice. Using the WHO priority pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa as an exemplar, we outline steps that can be undertaken to develop a reproducible model of infection and therapeutic testing. This includes recommendations on experimental setup, sample preparation, and infection and treatment protocols. Integration of this model within preclinical antimicrobial development pipelines would decrease reliance on mammalian models, reduce the number of ineffective compounds reaching clinical trials, and ultimately increase the efficiency of preclinical antimicrobial development.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Animals, Moths, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas Infections, Disease Models, Animal, Anti-Infective Agents, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Drug Evaluation, Preclinical, Larva
Divisions:	Faculty of Health & Life Sciences Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Infection, Vet & Ecological Sciences Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Infection, Vet & Ecological Sciences > Inst. Infection, Vet & Ecological Sciences (T&R Staff) Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Infection, Vet & Ecological Sciences > Clinical Infection, Microbiology & Immunology
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	01 Dec 2025 09:19
Last Modified:	16 Jun 2026 20:22
DOI:	10.3791/67210
Open Access URL:	https://app.jove.com/t/67210/galleria-mellonella-a...
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3195700
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