Thepursuitof cryptococcal pathogenesis: heterologoushosts and the studyof cryptococcal host^pathogen interactions

neoformans; Drosophila melanogaster; fungal infection; Galleria mellonella; Toll-pathway. Analysis of the molecular mechanisms by which a pathogen interacts with the human host is most commonly performed using a mammalian model of infection. However, several virulence-related genes previously shown to be involved in mammalian infection with Cryptococcus neoformans have also been shown to play a role in the interaction of these pathogens with invertebrates, such as Acantha-moeba castellanii, Caenorhabditis elegans, Dictyostelium discoideum, Drosophila melanogaster and Galleria mellonella. The study of host–pathogen interactions using these model hosts has allowed rapid screening of mutant libraries and can be used for the study of evolutionarily preserved aspects of microbial virulence and host response