Host species and environmental effects on bacterial communities associated with Drosophila in the laboratory and in the natural environment.

ABSTRACT: The fruit fly Drosophila is a classic model organism to study adaptation as well as the relationship between genetic variation and phenotypes. Although associated bacterial communities might be important for many aspects of Drosophila biology, knowledge about their diversity, composition, and factors shaping them is limited. We used 454-based sequencing of a variable region of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene to characterize the bacterial communities associated with wild and laboratory Drosophila isolates. In order to specifically investigate effects of food source and host species on bacterial communities, we analyzed samples from wild Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans collected from a variety of natural substrates, as well as from adults and larvae of nine laboratory-reared Dro

SUBMITTER: Staubach F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3742674 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature