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Background  Colonization with bacterial species from the  Burkholderia cepacia  complex (Bcc) is associated with fast health decline among individuals with cystic fibrosis. In order to investigate the virulence of the Bcc, several alternative infection models have been developed. To this end, the fruit fly is increasingly used as surrogate host, and its validity to enhance our understanding of host-pathogen relationships has been demonstrated with a variety of microorganisms. Moreover, its relevance as a suitable alternative to mammalian hosts has been confirmed with vertebrate organisms.    Methodology/Principal Findings  The aim of this study was to establish  Drosophila melanogaster  as a surrogate host for species from the Bcc. While the feeding method proved unsuccessful at killing the flies, the pricking technique did generate mortality within the populations. Results obtained with the fruit fly model are comparable with results obtained using mammalian infection models. Furthermore, validity of the  Drosophila  infection model was confirmed with  B. cenocepacia  K56-2 mutants known to be less virulent in murine hosts or in other alternative models. Competitive index (CI) analyses were also performed using the fruit fly as host. Results of CI experiments agree with those obtained with mammalian models.    Conclusions/Significance  We conclude that  Drosophila  is a useful alternative infection model for Bcc and that fly pricking assays and competition indices are two complementary methods for virulence testing. Moreover, CI results indicate that this method is more sensitive than mortality tests.

Drosophila melanogaster as a Model Host for the Burkholderia cepacia Complex