{"id":{"repo_id":"kings","oai_identifier":"oai:kclpure.kcl.ac.uk:studenttheses/e7aa5890-68d4-470d-8c16-58dbc6a7036a"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/kings/oai:kclpure.kcl.ac.uk:studenttheses/e7aa5890-68d4-470d-8c16-58dbc6a7036a","repository":{"repo_id":"kings","name":"King's College London","base_url":"https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/oai"},"display":{"title":"Infections of Drosophila melanogaster with pathogens: Mycobacterium marinum and Burkholderia thailandensis","abstract":"The first part of this thesis focuses on infection of Drosophila with Mycobacterium marinum. Tuberculosis remains one of the most widespread infectious diseases in the world affecting approximately one third of the world’s population1. The bacterium that causes this serious affliction is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a Biosafety Level 3 agent. This bacterium’s close relative, M. marinum, causes a tuberculosis-like disease in fish and frogs, but does not require special working conditions. In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, M. marinum prevents phagosomal acidification, permitting it to survive in fly macrophages. Drosophila is thus a genetically tractable model for the study of some stages of tuberculosis. To understand the pathology of M. marinum infection in the fly, I have analysed the potential role of several genes mainly by survival assays, quantification of antimicrobial peptide expression, and microscopy. A phenotype emerged in a macrophage-specific knockdown of the Drosophila phagocytic receptor Nimrod C3. The second part of this thesis focuses on infections of Drosophila with Burkholderia thailandensis. B. thailandensis is a Gram-negative bacterium closely related to Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis. The study revealed that B. thailandensis was pathogenic in the fly; it activated the fly immune system and antimicrobial peptides were expressed. Despite the strong immune response, this infection is lethal and kills Drosophila within two days. This result suggests that the bacterium is resistant to antimicrobial peptides; similar findings have been reported in the case of the B. pseudomallei resistance to a human antimicrobial peptide in vitro. Overall, this work focuses on host factors involved in immunity to infection and the generation of pathology in intracellular bacterial infections.
In each case, we have used pathogens closely related to serious human pathogens, with the aim of identifying conserved mechanisms of pathogenesis and immunity. Along the way, I have generated several experimental tools that will be useful both for the study of these specific infections and for the analysis of infection biology more generally.","abstract_html":"The first part of this thesis focuses on infection of Drosophila with Mycobacterium marinum. Tuberculosis remains one of the most widespread infectious diseases in the world affecting approximately one third of the world’s population1. The bacterium that causes this serious affliction is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a Biosafety Level 3 agent. This bacterium’s close relative, M. marinum, causes a tuberculosis-like disease in fish and frogs, but does not require special working conditions. In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, M. marinum prevents phagosomal acidification, permitting it to survive in fly macrophages. Drosophila is thus a genetically tractable model for the study of some stages of tuberculosis. To understand the pathology of M. marinum infection in the fly, I have analysed the potential role of several genes mainly by survival assays, quantification of antimicrobial peptide expression, and microscopy. A phenotype emerged in a macrophage-specific knockdown of the Drosophila phagocytic receptor Nimrod C3. The second part of this thesis focuses on infections of Drosophila with Burkholderia thailandensis. B. thailandensis is a Gram-negative bacterium closely related to Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis. The study revealed that B. thailandensis was pathogenic in the fly; it activated the fly immune system and antimicrobial peptides were expressed. Despite the strong immune response, this infection is lethal and kills Drosophila within two days. This result suggests that the bacterium is resistant to antimicrobial peptides; similar findings have been reported in the case of the B. pseudomallei resistance to a human antimicrobial peptide in vitro. Overall, this work focuses on host factors involved in immunity to infection and the generation of pathology in intracellular bacterial infections.<br/>In each case, we have used pathogens closely related to serious human pathogens, with the aim of identifying conserved mechanisms of pathogenesis and immunity. Along the way, I have generated several experimental tools that will be useful both for the study of these specific infections and for the analysis of infection biology more generally.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Pilatova, Martina"],"institution":"King's College London","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Dionne, Marc Stuart","Bateman, Joseph Matthew"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-11-1","date_published":"2012-11-1","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:44:42Z","subjects":[],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oai:kclpure.kcl.ac.uk:studenttheses/e7aa5890-68d4-470d-8c16-58dbc6a7036a"],"render_values":[{"text":"oai:kclpure.kcl.ac.uk:studenttheses/e7aa5890-68d4-470d-8c16-58dbc6a7036a","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/studentTheses/e7aa5890-68d4-470d-8c16-58dbc6a7036a","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Dionne, Marc Stuart","Bateman, Joseph Matthew"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Pilatova, Martina"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2012-11-1"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2012-11-1"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["King's College London"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/studentTheses/e7aa5890-68d4-470d-8c16-58dbc6a7036a"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oai:kclpure.kcl.ac.uk:studenttheses/e7aa5890-68d4-470d-8c16-58dbc6a7036a","https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/studentTheses/e7aa5890-68d4-470d-8c16-58dbc6a7036a"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/13503856/Studentthesis-Martina_Pilatova_2012.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The first part of this thesis focuses on infection of Drosophila with Mycobacterium marinum. Tuberculosis remains one of the most widespread infectious diseases in the world affecting approximately one third of the world’s population1. The bacterium that causes this serious affliction is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a Biosafety Level 3 agent. This bacterium’s close relative, M. marinum, causes a tuberculosis-like disease in fish and frogs, but does not require special working conditions. In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, M. marinum prevents phagosomal acidification, permitting it to survive in fly macrophages. Drosophila is thus a genetically tractable model for the study of some stages of tuberculosis. To understand the pathology of M. marinum infection in the fly, I have analysed the potential role of several genes mainly by survival assays, quantification of antimicrobial peptide expression, and microscopy. A phenotype emerged in a macrophage-specific knockdown of the Drosophila phagocytic receptor Nimrod C3. The second part of this thesis focuses on infections of Drosophila with Burkholderia thailandensis. B. thailandensis is a Gram-negative bacterium closely related to Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis. The study revealed that B. thailandensis was pathogenic in the fly; it activated the fly immune system and antimicrobial peptides were expressed. Despite the strong immune response, this infection is lethal and kills Drosophila within two days. This result suggests that the bacterium is resistant to antimicrobial peptides; similar findings have been reported in the case of the B. pseudomallei resistance to a human antimicrobial peptide in vitro. Overall, this work focuses on host factors involved in immunity to infection and the generation of pathology in intracellular bacterial infections.
In each case, we have used pathogens closely related to serious human pathogens, with the aim of identifying conserved mechanisms of pathogenesis and immunity. Along the way, I have generated several experimental tools that will be useful both for the study of these specific infections and for the analysis of infection biology more generally."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Infections of Drosophila melanogaster with pathogens: Mycobacterium marinum and Burkholderia thailandensis"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Dionne, Marc Stuart","Bateman, Joseph Matthew"],"dc:creator":["Pilatova, Martina"],"dc:date":["2012-11-1"],"dc:date.issued":["2012-11-1"],"dc:description.abstract":["The first part of this thesis focuses on infection of Drosophila with Mycobacterium marinum. Tuberculosis remains one of the most widespread infectious diseases in the world affecting approximately one third of the world’s population1. The bacterium that causes this serious affliction is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a Biosafety Level 3 agent. This bacterium’s close relative, M. marinum, causes a tuberculosis-like disease in fish and frogs, but does not require special working conditions. In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, M. marinum prevents phagosomal acidification, permitting it to survive in fly macrophages. Drosophila is thus a genetically tractable model for the study of some stages of tuberculosis. To understand the pathology of M. marinum infection in the fly, I have analysed the potential role of several genes mainly by survival assays, quantification of antimicrobial peptide expression, and microscopy. A phenotype emerged in a macrophage-specific knockdown of the Drosophila phagocytic receptor Nimrod C3. The second part of this thesis focuses on infections of Drosophila with Burkholderia thailandensis. B. thailandensis is a Gram-negative bacterium closely related to Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis. The study revealed that B. thailandensis was pathogenic in the fly; it activated the fly immune system and antimicrobial peptides were expressed. Despite the strong immune response, this infection is lethal and kills Drosophila within two days. This result suggests that the bacterium is resistant to antimicrobial peptides; similar findings have been reported in the case of the B. pseudomallei resistance to a human antimicrobial peptide in vitro. Overall, this work focuses on host factors involved in immunity to infection and the generation of pathology in intracellular bacterial infections.
In each case, we have used pathogens closely related to serious human pathogens, with the aim of identifying conserved mechanisms of pathogenesis and immunity. Along the way, I have generated several experimental tools that will be useful both for the study of these specific infections and for the analysis of infection biology more generally."],"dc:identifier":["oai:kclpure.kcl.ac.uk:studenttheses/e7aa5890-68d4-470d-8c16-58dbc6a7036a","https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/studentTheses/e7aa5890-68d4-470d-8c16-58dbc6a7036a"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/13503856/Studentthesis-Martina_Pilatova_2012.pdf"],"dc:language":["eng"],"dc:publisher.department":["Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology"],"dc:publisher.institution":["King's College London"],"dc:relation.isreferencedby":["https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/studentTheses/e7aa5890-68d4-470d-8c16-58dbc6a7036a"],"dc:title":["Infections of Drosophila melanogaster with pathogens: Mycobacterium marinum and Burkholderia thailandensis"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Doctoral Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:44:42Z"}