2024 Volume 38 Issue 1 Pages 1-8
An imbalance in the intestinal microbiota affects the onset and progression of various diseases, including infectious diseases, lifestyle-related diseases, and cancer. Therefore, understanding host–microbe interactions in the gut microbiota contributes to the development of the prevention and treatment of these diseases. Typically, antimicrobial-treated mice or gnotobiotic mice are used for research; however, there are costs and ethical issues involved. Here, we outline studies that have used silkworms as alternative animals. Silkworms can be used in experiments with a large number of individuals, especially because the ethical issues are small. Pathological models of infectious diseases and diabetes have been established using silkworms as the experimental animals. These pathological silkworm models are useful for the identification of lactic acid bacteria, which are expected to have preventive effects against infectious diseases and diabetes.
