Zebrafish and frog models of Mycobacterium marinum infection.

Mycobacterium marinum infection of poikilothermic animals, such as fish and frogs, results in chronic granulomatous diseases that bear many similarities to mycobacterioses in mammals, including tuberculosis. This unit describes three animal models of M. marinum infection that can be used to study basic aspects of Mycobacterium-host interactions and granuloma development, as well as trafficking of immune cells in host tissues. Protocols are included that describe intraperitoneal infection of adult leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) and zebrafish (Danio rerio). Protocols also describe subsequent monitoring of the infection by enumeration of bacterial cfu, mean time to death, or visual examination of infected tissue using both conventional histological stains and fluorescence microscopy of fluorescently marked bacteria. Furthermore, protocols are included that describe the infection of embryonic zebrafish and the subsequent analysis of the infection in real time using DIC and fluorescence microscopy.