as an infection model for the virulent H37Rv.

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by (), is a leading cause of infectious disease mortality. Animal infection models have contributed substantially to our understanding of TB, yet their biological and non-biological limitations are a research bottleneck. There is a need for more ethically acceptable, economical, and reproducible TB infection models capable of mimicking key aspects of disease. Here, we demonstrate and present a basic description of how (the greater wax moth, ) larvae can be used as a low cost, rapid, and ethically more acceptable model for TB research. This is the first study to infect with the fully virulent H37Rv, the most widely used strain in research. Infection of with resulted in a symptomatic lethal infection, the virulence of which differed from both attenuated BCG and auxotrophic strains. The model can also be used for anti-TB drug screening, although CFU enumeration from is necessary for confirmation of mycobacterial load reducing activity of the tested compound. Furthermore, comparative virulence of isogenic mutants can be determined in . However, comparison of mutant phenotypes in against conventional models must consider the limitations of innate immunity. Our findings indicate that will be a practical, valuable, and advantageous additional model to be used alongside existing models to advance tuberculosis research.