Greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) as a model organism in biomedical research

Abstract

The greater wax moth Galleria mellonella is widely used as non-vertebrate model host. The advantages of the species include its common occurrence, short development cycle, relatively large size of larvae, which greatly facilitates laboratory manipulations. Importantly, insects can be incubated at 37°C, which is necessary for research on human pathogens. A positive correlation has been shown between the host response and the virulence of many pathogens in mammalian and insect models. G. mellonella larvae are successfully used in studies of pathogen-host interactions, mechanisms of pathogenesis and virulence factors of human pathogens e.g. Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. Insects have also been shown to be suitable for testing the efficacy of biologically active substances or in alternative therapies to replace antibiotics.