Galleria mellonella experimental model for bat fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans and human fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus pannorum

Abstract

Laboratory investigations of the pathogenesis of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungal causal agent of bat White Nose Syndrome (WNS), presents unique challenges due to its growth requirements (4°-15°C) and a lack of infectivity in the current disease models. Pseudogymnoascus pannorum is the nearest fungal relative of P. destructans with wider psychrophilic - physiological growth range, and ability to cause rare skin infections in humans. Our broad objectives are to create the molecular toolkit for comparative study of P. destructans and P. pannorum pathogenesis. Towards these goals, we report the successful development of an invertebrate model in the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella. Both P. destructans and P. pannorum caused fatal disease in G. mellonella and elicited immune responses and histopathological changes consistent with the experimental disease.