Measurement of the In Vivo Burden of Bacteria Expressing Luciferase in an Insect Larva

Published: September 29, 2023

Abstract

Source: Asai, M. et al., Use of the Invertebrate Galleria mellonella as an Infection Model to Study the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex. J. Vis. Exp. (2019)

This video showcases the in vivo bacterial burden measurement using Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, BCG, lux-infected insect larvae. The process involves larval homogenization, treatment with a luciferase substrate, and bioluminescence measurement to determine relative light units that correlate with bacterial burden.

Protocol

NOTE: All work described below is to be carried out in a CL2 laboratory within a class 2 microbiological safety cabinet (MSC) following local health and safety guidelines. 1. Preparation of M. bovis BCG lux for Infection Defrost a frozen 1.2 mL glycerol (15%) stock of Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) lux, the Montreal vaccine strain transformed with the sh…

Divulgazioni

The authors have nothing to disclose.

Materials

1.5ml reaction tube (Eppendorf) Eppendorf 22431021
20, 200 and 1000 µl pipette and filtered tips Any supplier n/a
24-well culture plate Greiner 662160
25 ml pipettes and pipette boy Any supplier n/a
3 compartment Petri dish (94/15mm) Greiner 637102
Centrifuge Any supplier n/a
Class II safety cabinet Any supplier n/a
Erlenmeyer flask with vented cap (250 ml) Corning CLS40183
Ethanol (>99.7%) VWR 208221.321
Galleria mellonella (250 per pk) Livefood Direct UK W250
Glycerol Sigma-Aldrich G5150
Homogenizer (FastPrep-24 5G ) MP Biomedicals 116005500
Hygromycin B Corning 30-240CR
Luminometer (Autolumat LB 953) Berthold 34622
Luminometer tubes Corning 352054
Lysing matrix (S, 2.0ml) MP Biomedicals 116925500
Micro syringe (25 µl, 25 ga) SGE 3000
Microcentrifuge Any supplier n/a
Middlebrook 7H11 agar BD Bioscience 283810
Middlebrook 7H9 broth BD Bioscience 271310
Middlebrook ADC enrichment BD Bioscience 212352
Middlebrook OADC enrichment BD Bioscience 212240
Mycobacterium bovis BCG lux Various n/a
n-decyl aldehyde Sigma-Aldrich D7384-100G
Orbital shaking incubator Any supplier n/a
Phosphate buffered saline Sigma-Aldrich P4417-100TAB
Polysorbate 80 (Tween-80) Sigma-Aldrich P8074-500ml
Small box Any supplier n/a Dark vented or non-sealed box recommended
Tweezer Any supplier n/a Short and narrow tipped/Blunt long tweezers
Petri dish (94/15mm) Greiner 633181
Filter paper (94mm) Any supplier n/a Cut to fit

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Citazione di questo articolo
Measurement of the In Vivo Burden of Bacteria Expressing Luciferase in an Insect Larva. J. Vis. Exp. (Pending Publication), e21707, doi: (2023).

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