Abstract Title
Testing K62 Toxicity on G. mellonella Larvae
Abstract
150 million people suffer from fungal infections worldwide every year. This is compounded by the rising prevalence of antifungal resistance. One fungus commonly responsible for these infections is Candida glabrata. C. glabrata is a pathogenic fungus that has a putative aerolysin. In a similar vein, Saccharomyces paradoxus has been found to produce an aerolysin homolog called K62, which is known to exhibit antifungal properties. However, the host specificity of C.glabrata's K62L remains unknown. To gain a better understanding of how C. glabrata infections work, model animals such as greater wax worm larvae (Galleria mellonella) can be used. G. mellonella is an important model animal because it can be incubated at mammalian body temperatures and is relatively inexpensive. If K62 or K62L is shown to aid in the killing of G. mellonella, these novel fungal aerolysin’s may aid fungal pathogenicity in humans. Understanding K62L’s role could provide researchers with novel targets for therapeutics to combat C. glabrata infections.
Testing K62 Toxicity on G. mellonella Larvae
150 million people suffer from fungal infections worldwide every year. This is compounded by the rising prevalence of antifungal resistance. One fungus commonly responsible for these infections is Candida glabrata. C. glabrata is a pathogenic fungus that has a putative aerolysin. In a similar vein, Saccharomyces paradoxus has been found to produce an aerolysin homolog called K62, which is known to exhibit antifungal properties. However, the host specificity of C.glabrata's K62L remains unknown. To gain a better understanding of how C. glabrata infections work, model animals such as greater wax worm larvae (Galleria mellonella) can be used. G. mellonella is an important model animal because it can be incubated at mammalian body temperatures and is relatively inexpensive. If K62 or K62L is shown to aid in the killing of G. mellonella, these novel fungal aerolysin’s may aid fungal pathogenicity in humans. Understanding K62L’s role could provide researchers with novel targets for therapeutics to combat C. glabrata infections.