There is a rapidly growing list of publications validating Galleria mellonella’s use as
an in-vivo animal partial replacement model in the fields of infection, immunology,
and inflammation.
This is because Galleria mellonella larvae exhibit an easily identifiable, but
qualitative, biological read-out of such challenges – they produce melanin pigment,
turning the larvae from cream-coloured to black. They possess broad susceptibility to
microbial pathogens, with pharmacodynamics of drug clearance showing remarkably
similar patterns of drug clearance to humans.
Moreover, individual larvae can be precisely dosed by injection, their maintenance is
straightforward and, in contrast with competing non-mammalian systems, such as
zebrafish, C. elegans and Drosophila, they can be reared at 37°C, facilitating
research into both normal cellular kinetics of biological processes and host-pathogen
interactions.
Unlike these other model organisms however, Galleria is not currently genetically
tractable and lacks detailed protocols for molecular tools or in depth knowledge
about its biology. This thesis project describes work done to develop an embryonic
microinjection pipeline and better the understanding of preblastodermal development
for this organism. In addition, robust protocols for the insertion of new genetic
material via PiggyBac mediated transposition, and gene knock-out via CRISPR/Cas9
mediated mutagenesis are described for the first time in Galleria.