Researchers have developed a new technique that allows them to make a movie of bacteria infecting their living host.
Whilst most studies of bacterial infection are done after the death of the infected organism, this system developed by scientists at the University of Bath and University of Exeter is the first to follow the progress of infection in real-time with living organisms.
The researchers used developing fruit fly embryos as a model organism, injecting fluorescently tagged bacteria into the embryos and observing their interaction with the insect's immune system using time-lapse confocal microscopy.
The researchers can also tag individual bacterial proteins to follow their movement and determine their specific roles in the infection process.
The scientists are hoping to use this system in the future with human pathogens such as Listeria and Trypanosomes. By observing how these bacteria interact with the immune system, researchers will gain a better understanding of how they cause an infection and could eventually lead to better antibacterial treatments.
Dr Will Wood, Research Fellow in the Department of Biology & Biochemistry at the University of Bath, explained: "Cells often behave very differently once they have been taken out of their natural environment and cultured in a petri dish.