RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Using the Wax moth larva Galleria mellonella infection model to detect emerging bacterial pathogens JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 327015 DO 10.1101/327015 A1 Rafael J. Hernandez A1 Elze Hesse A1 Andrea J. Dowling A1 Nicola M. Coyle A1 Edward J. Feil A1 Will H. Gaze A1 Michiel Vos YR 2018 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/10/13/327015.abstract AB Climate change, changing farming practices, social and demographic changes and rising levels of antibiotic resistance are likely to lead to future increases in opportunistic bacterial infections that are more difficult to treat. Uncovering the prevalence and identity of pathogenic bacteria in the environment is key to assessing transmission risks. We describe the first use of the Wax moth larva Galleria mellonella, a well-established model for the mammalian innate immune system, to selectively enrich and characterize pathogens from coastal environments in the South West of the U.K. Whole-genome sequencing of highly virulent isolates revealed amongst others a Proteus mirabilis strain carrying the Salmonella SGI1 genomic island not reported from the U.K. before and the recently described species Vibrio injenensis hitherto only reported from human patients in Korea. Our novel method has the power to detect novel bacterial pathogens in the environment that potentially pose a serious risk to public health.