Attractant Role of Bacterial Bioluminescence of Photorhabdusluminescenson a Galleria mellonella Model

摘要

Though the intricate relationship between the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and its symbiotic bacterial counterpart Photorhabdus luminescensis generally known; the role of bioluminescence produced by the bacterial symbiont is yet to be identified. The objective of this study was to determine if bacterial luminosity plays a crucial role in attraction of larval insect hosts. This study focused on bacterial bioluminescence produced from both in vitro and in vivo culturing of the bacterial symbiont. The obtained results portrays that the average distance between Galleria mellonellalarvae and the bacterial light source (P. luminescens)decreased in a linear fashion as a function of increasing intensities of luminosity; thereby supporting the hypothesis that bioluminescence offers a symbiotic role to attract insect host larvae.