The Gut Commensal Microbiome of Drosophila melanogaster Is Modified by the Endosymbiont Wolbachia.

ABSTRACT: Endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria and the gut microbiome have independently been shown to affect several aspects of insect biology, including reproduction, development, life span, stem cell activity, and resistance to human pathogens, in insect vectors. This work shows that Wolbachia bacteria, which reside mainly in the fly germline, affect the microbial species present in the fly gut in a lab-reared strain. Drosophila melanogaster hosts two main genera of commensal bacteria-Acetobacter and Lactobacillus. Wolbachia-infected flies have significantly reduced titers of Acetobacter. Sampling of the microbiome of axenic flies fed with equal proportions of both bacteria shows that the presence of Wolbachia bacteria is a significant determina

SUBMITTER: Simhadri RK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5597968 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep-Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature