Yeast communities of diverse Drosophila species: comparison of two symbiont groups in the same hosts.

ABSTRACT: The combination of ecological diversity with genetic and experimental tractability makes Drosophila a powerful model for the study of animal-associated microbial communities. Despite the known importance of yeasts in Drosophila physiology, behavior, and fitness, most recent work has focused on Drosophila-bacterial interactions. In order to get a more complete understanding of the Drosophila microbiome, we characterized the yeast communities associated with different Drosophila species collected around the world. We focused on the phylum Ascomycota because it constitutes the vast majority of the Drosophila-associated yeasts. Our sampling strategy allowed us to compare the distribution and structure of the yeast and bacterial communities in the same host populations. We show that yeast commu

SUBMITTER: Chandler JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3457106 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature