The larva of the wax moth Galleria mellonella was recently established as an in vivo model to study Legionella pneumophila infection. Here, we demonstrate fundamental techniques to characterize the pathogenesis of Legionella in the larvae, including inoculation, measurement of bacterial virulence and replication as well as extraction and analysis of infected hemocytes.
Harding, C. R., Schroeder, G. N., Collins, J. W., Frankel, G. Use of Galleria mellonella as a Model Organism to Study Legionella pneumophila Infection. J. Vis. Exp. (81), e50964, doi:10.3791/50964 (2013).