The intracellular symbiont Wolbachia alters Drosophila development and metabolism to buffer against nutritional stress.

ABSTRACT: The intracellular bacterium Wolbachia is a common symbiont of many arthropods and nematodes, well studied for its impacts on host reproductive biology. However, its broad success as a vertically transmitted infection cannot be attributed to manipulations of host reproduction alone. Using the Drosophila melanogaster model and natively associated Wolbachia strain "wMel", we show that Wolbachia infection supports fly development and buffers against nutritional stress. Wolbachia infection across two fly genotypes and a range of nutrient conditions resulted in reduced pupal mortality, increased adult emergence, and larger size. In parallel, transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses indicated that Wolbachia impacts a wide range of developmental and metabolic processes. Wolbachia-infected larvae ha

SUBMITTER: Lindsey ARI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12543281 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature