Using the chicken embryo as an in vivo model to revive viable but non-culturable (VBNC) pathogens

The chicken embryo has emerged as a popular in vivo model with increasing application in biomedical research, due to its simplicity, affordability, and adaptability in the study of various biological phenomena. This model has been used to investigate microbial pathogenicity, and is becoming a useful tool to study bacterial dormancy. The viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state is a dormant state in which bacteria become metabolically quiescent and resistant to cultivation to preserve their viability in harsh environments. Under favorable conditions, VBNC bacteria can "wake up" back into a metabolically active and culturable state. Bacterial pathogens that switch to a VBNC state, such as the foodborne listeriosis-causing Listeria monocytogenes, are a public health concern, as they elude detection by conventional growth-dependent methods and can recover their virulence upon revival. This urges a better understanding of the conditions and mechanisms driving the revival of VBNC pathogens. The method presented here showcases the chicken embryo as an efficient in vivo model to revive VBNC L. monocytogenes back into a culturable status. Where in vitro revival attempts, largely based on nutritional replenishing, were unproductive, this protocol succeeds in promoting the reactivation of cell wall-deficient VBNC forms of L. monocytogenes generated by starvation in mineral water. Importantly, our results underline the requirement of the embryo for the revival of VBNC L. monocytogenes, indicating an important role of embryo-associated factors in this process. Other potential uses for this method include the screening and identification of bacterial factors implicated in the mechanisms of VBNC state revival. This model can thus provide insight into the molecular workings of bacterial dormancy, whose knowledge is critical to reduce the public health risks entailed by undetectable pathogens. SUMMARYThis method showcases the chicken embryo as a simple and cost-effective in vivo model to revive the bacterial pathogen L. monocytogenes from a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state, and with potential further uses in the understanding of bacterial dormancy mechanisms.