title: Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) as an alternative host to study fungal infections.
abstract: Models of host–pathogen interactions are crucial for the analysis of microbial pathogenesis. In this context, invertebrate hosts, including Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly), Caenorhabditis elegans (nematode) and Galleria mellonella (moth), have been used to study the pathogenesis of fungi and bacteria. Each of these organisms offers distinct benefits in elucidating host–pathogen interactions. In this study,we present a newinvertebrate infection model to study fungal infections: the Tenebrio molitor (beetle) larvae. Here we performed T. molitor larvae infection with one of two important fungal human pathogens, Candida albicans or Cryptococcus neoformans, and analyzed survival curves and larva infected tissues.We showed that increasing concentrations of inoculum of both fungi resulted in increased mortality rates, demonstrating the efficiency of the method to evaluate the virulence of pathogenic yeasts. Additionally, following 12 h post-infection, C. albicans formsmycelia, spreading its hyphae through the larva tissue,whilst GMS stain enabled the visualization of C. neoformans yeast and theirmelanin capsule. These larvae are easier to cultivate in the laboratory than G. mellonella larvae, and offer the same benefits. Therefore, this insect model could be a useful alternative tool to screen clinical pathogenic yeast strainswith distinct virulence traits or different mutant strains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Patrícia Canteri
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexandre Tadachi
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Morey
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gabriel Marcondes
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Castanheira
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Karla Paiva
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Bocate
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciano Aparecido
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Panagio
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Pediatric Dentistry, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fabio Augusto
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Márcia Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Furlaneto
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sueli Fumie
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Yamada-Ogatta
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathological Sciences, Center of Biological Sciences, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Idessânia Nazareth
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Universidad de Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico.
authors.forename: Hector Manuel
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Mora-Montes
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil. Electronic address: rikodonto@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ricardo Sergio
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Almeida
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000254:growth & development*; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000254:growth & development*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D007814:Larva / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D009181:Mycoses / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013712:Tenebrio / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D014774:Virulence
keywords: Candida albicans; Cryptococcus neoformans; Infection model; Tenebrio molitor