Bioluminescent Monitoring of In Vivo Colonization and Clearance Dynamics by Light-Emitting Bacteria

Bioluminescence is an excellent reporter system for analysing bacterial colonization and clearance dynamics in vivo. Many bacterial species have been rendered bioluminescent, allowing the sensitive detection of bacterial burden and metabolic activity in real-time and in situ in living animals. In this chapter we describe the protocols for characterizing in vivo infection models using bioluminescent bacteria: from real-time imaging in living animals by bioluminescence imaging (BLI) to ex vivo BLI of harvested organs and tissues and, finally, to quantification of bacterial numbers in organ and tissue homogenates by luminometry and viable counts. While the
lux
operon from
Photorhabdus luminescens
is ideally suited for use in such models, there may be times when alternative luciferases, such as those from the firefly (
luc
) or marine copepods (
Gluc
), may be more appropriate. Here we describe the protocols required to monitor colonization and clearance dynamics using bioluminescent bacteria that are
lux
-,
luc
-, or
Gluc
-positive.