The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans provides a powerful model system to study fundamental working mechanisms of the nervous system in a living animal. It's main advantages are its compact nervous system that has been fully mapped, its short generation time and amenability for genetic research. As a

The Galleria mellonella assay makes use of larvae of the Greater Wax Moth. G. mellonella larvae are injected with a small amount of microorganisms, and survival can easily be followed for up to 1 week. This allows to compare virulence between different organisms. Alternatively, after injection of

The C. elegans assay can be used to study the virulence of various microorganisms, and can be used to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of drugs or drug candidates. The two main outcome parameters are (i) survival of C. elegans and (ii) microbial load.