MINI REVIEW article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Bacteria and Host
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1686074
This article is part of the Research TopicReviews in Bacteria and HostView all 6 articles
Small Worms Big Discoveries: Galleria mellonella as a Model for Campylobacter jejuni Infection
Provisionally accepted
- Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, United States
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Galleria mellonella larva have served as a simple, cost-effective model for studying innate immunity and Campylobacter jejuni infection. The model commonly employs an acute, high-dose septic infection via hemocoel injection, with observable endpoints of death and melanization. Studies using G. mellonella have provided insights into C. jejuni virulence factors, including the capsule, transcriptional regulators, outer membrane vesicles, and a T6SS. It has revealed signals for virulence, such as pancreatic amylase and growth temperature, and also allowed for comparisons between C. jejuni strains and across multiple species in the genus. Limitations include the use of high bacterial doses that may obscure the role of specific virulence factors, lack of accounting for larval size variations, and unclear connection to the human anaerobic, microbially-rich gut environment. Future development of this model could allow oral infections for exploring pathogen-microbiome interactions and further assessing mechanisms of this important pathogen.
Keywords: Campylobacter jejuni, Galleria mellonella, Virulence, Infection model, Capsule
Received: 14 Aug 2025; Accepted: 08 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Primm, Cannon and Karki. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Todd P Primm, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, United States
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