School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, United Kingdom.
J Infect Dis. 2010 Mar;201(5):776-82. doi: 10.1086/650494.
Galleria mellonella (wax moth) larvae have elsewhere been shown to be susceptible to pathogens such as Francisella tularensis, Burkholderia mallei, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We report that the larvae are rapidly killed by Campylobacter jejuni at 37C. Three strains of C. jejuni tested, 11168H (human diarrheal isolate), G1 (human Guillain-Barré syndrome isolate), and 81-176 (human diarrheal isolate), were equally effective at killing G. mellonella larvae. A panel of defined mutants of C. jejuni 11168H, in known or putative virulence genes, showed different degrees of attenuation in G. mellonella larvae. A mutant lacking the O-methyl phosphoramidate (MeOPN) capsule side group was attenuated, clearly demonstrating that MeOPN has a role in virulence. This new model of C. jejuni infection should facilitate the identification of novel virulence genes.
黄粉虫幼虫在其他地方已经被证明易受病原体如土拉弗朗西斯菌、鼻疽伯克霍尔德菌和铜绿假单胞菌的感染。我们报告说，在 37°C 时，空肠弯曲菌能迅速杀死黄粉虫幼虫。在测试的三种空肠弯曲菌菌株中，11168H（人类腹泻分离株）、G1（人类格林-巴利综合征分离株）和 81-176（人类腹泻分离株）对黄粉虫幼虫的致死效果相同。一组已知或假定的空肠弯曲菌 11168H 毒力基因的定义突变体在黄粉虫幼虫中表现出不同程度的衰减。一个缺乏 O-甲基磷酰胺（MeOPN）囊侧基团的突变体表现出衰减，这清楚地表明 MeOPN 在毒力中起作用。这种空肠弯曲菌感染的新模型应该有助于鉴定新的毒力基因。
