Drosophila melanogaster is a genetically tractable model host for Mycobacterium marinum

TY - JOUR

T1 - Drosophila melanogaster is a genetically tractable model host for Mycobacterium marinum

AU - Dionne, M S

AU - Ghori, N

AU - Schneider, D S

PY - 2003/6/1

Y1 - 2003/6/1

N2 - Mycobacterium matinum is a pathogenic mycobacterial species that is closely related to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and causes tuberculosis-like disease in fish and frogs. We infected the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster with M. marinum. This bacterium caused a lethal infection in the fly, with a 50% lethal dose (LD50) of 5 CFU. Death was accompanied by widespread tissue damage. M. marinum initially proliferated inside the phagocytes of the fly; later in infection, bacteria were found both inside and outside host cells. Intracellular M. marinum blocked vacuolar acidification and failed to colocalize with dead Escherichia coli, similar to infections of mouse macrophages. M. marinum lacking the mag24 gene were less virulent, as determined both by LD50 and by death kinetics. Finally, in contrast to all other bacteria examined, mycobacteria failed to elicit the production of antimicrobial peptides in Drosophila. We believe that this system should be a useful genetically tractable model for mycobacterial infection

AB - Mycobacterium matinum is a pathogenic mycobacterial species that is closely related to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and causes tuberculosis-like disease in fish and frogs. We infected the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster with M. marinum. This bacterium caused a lethal infection in the fly, with a 50% lethal dose (LD50) of 5 CFU. Death was accompanied by widespread tissue damage. M. marinum initially proliferated inside the phagocytes of the fly; later in infection, bacteria were found both inside and outside host cells. Intracellular M. marinum blocked vacuolar acidification and failed to colocalize with dead Escherichia coli, similar to infections of mouse macrophages. M. marinum lacking the mag24 gene were less virulent, as determined both by LD50 and by death kinetics. Finally, in contrast to all other bacteria examined, mycobacteria failed to elicit the production of antimicrobial peptides in Drosophila. We believe that this system should be a useful genetically tractable model for mycobacterial infection

U2 - 10.1128/IAI.71.6.3540-3550.2003

DO - 10.1128/IAI.71.6.3540-3550.2003

M3 - Article

SN - 1098-5522

VL - 71

SP - 3540

EP - 3550

JO - Infection and Immunity

JF - Infection and Immunity

IS - 6

ER -