Development of an insect model to assess phage/Campylobacter interactions

Abstract

Campylobacter is a key food-safety pathogen and bio-control using bacteriophages can be an option, since such products are already in use for other food safety pathogens. The present study is based on the outcomes of a previously carried out Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation funded study that resulted in the isolation of bacteriophages from a range of Queensland poultry farms. Thus there is potential to use these bacteriophages in future studies targeting Campylobacter bio-control in Australia. This is the first such study and the main focus of the present study was to find a cost effective and easy option to assess both bacteriophages and Campylobacter to support future phage therapy studies. More specifically, an insect model can fill a niche between the required laboratory and subsequent chicken trials. Carrying out extensive chicken trials can be challenging due to the cost, work involved and other ethical requirements. The present study validated the use of the larvae of the wax moth, G. mellonella for the purpose. Insect models have been developed for a range of infective agents, but have received little attention to date as a means of screening for therapeutic approaches destined for either human or animal studies. Additionally, the use of insect models enables the use of many greater experimental units for multi-factorial studies, allowing the design of statistically robust experiments. Thus the G. mellonella insect model can be an intermediary option with possibilities to reduce extensive chicken trials and contribute to more effective laboratory screening.