The greater wax moth Galleria mellonella: biology and use in immune studies.

The greater wax moth Galleria mellonella is an invertebrate, which is increasingly being used in scientific research. Its ease of reproduction, numerous offspring, short development cycle, and, finally, its known genome and immune-related transcriptome provide a convenient research model for investigation of insect immunity at the biochemical and molecular levels. Galleria immunity, consisting of only innate mechanisms, shows adaptive plasticity, which has recently become the subject of intensive scientific research. This insect serves as a mini host in studies of the pathogenicity of microorganisms and in vivo tests of the effectiveness of single virulence factors as well as new antimicrobial compounds. Certainly, the Galleria mellonella species deserves our attention and appreciation for its contribution to the development of research on innate immune mechanisms. In this review article, we describe the biology of the greater wax moth, summarize the main advantages of using it as a model organism, and present some main techniques facilitating work with this animal.