Galleria mellonella Invertebrate Model Mirrors the Pathogenic Potential of Mycoplasma alligatoris within the Natural Host

Figure 4

Weight loss (a) and microbial load (b) in multiple body sites following intravenous (IV) infection with 10⁶M. alligatoris. Three animals were euthanized at 6, 15, and 16D PI; all others were euthanized at D28 PI. denotes the weight and microbial load of these three animals at time of euthanasia. (a) The starting baseline weight is shown by the dashed line; all data are expressed in percentage of the starting body weight. (b) Consistent bacteremia was found at necropsy with a subset of animals also infected in the brain. Note that two animals that were euthanized did not have a brain culture taken.

(a)

(b)