Common duckweed (Lemna minor) is a versatile high-throughput infection model for the Burkholderia cepacia complex and other pathogenic bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Members of the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) have emerged in recent decades as problematic pulmonary pathogens of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, with severe infections progressing to acute necrotizing pneumonia and sepsis. This study presents evidence that Lemna minor (Common duckweed) is useful as a plant model for the Bcc infectious process, and has potential as a model system for bacterial pathogenesis in general. To investigate the relationship between Bcc virulence in duckweed and Galleria mellonella (Greater wax moth) larvae, a previously established Bcc infection model, a duckweed survival assay was developed and used to determine LD50 values. A strong correlation (R(2) = 0.81) was found between the strains' virulence ranks in the two infection models, suggesting conserved path

SUBMITTER: Thomson EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3819297 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature