Gut microbiota modifies olfactory-guided microbial preferences and foraging decisions in drosophila

Adam Chun-Nin Wong, Qiao-Ping Wang, Juliano Morimoto, Alistair M. Senior, Mathieu Lihoreau, G. Gregory Neely, Stephen J. Simpson, Fleur Ponton

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    138 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The gut microbiota affects a wide spectrum of host physiological traits, including development [1–5], germline [6], immunity [7–9], nutrition [4, 10, 11], and longevity [12, 13]. Association with microbes also influences fitness-related behaviors such as mating [14] and social interactions [15, 16]. Although the gut microbiota is evidently important for host wellbeing, how hosts become associated with particular assemblages of microbes from the environment remains unclear. Here, we present evidence that the gut microbiota can modify microbial and nutritional preferences of Drosophila melanogaster. By experimentally manipulating the gut microbiota of flies subjected to behavioral and chemosensory assays, we found that fly-microbe attractions are shaped by the identity of the host microbiota. Conventional flies exhibit preference for their associated Lactobacillus, a behavior also present in axenic flies as adults and marginally as larvae. By contrast, fly preference for Acetobacter is primed by early-life exposure and can override the innate preference. These microbial preferences are largely olfactory guided and have profound impact on host foraging, as flies continuously trade off between acquiring beneficial microbes and balancing nutrients from food. Our study shows a role of animal microbiota in shaping host fitness-related behavior through their chemosensory responses, opening a research theme on the interrelationships between the microbiota, host sensory perception, and behavior.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)2397-2404
    Number of pages8
    JournalCurrent Biology
    Volume27
    Issue number15
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 7 Aug 2017

    Keywords

    • Acetobacter
    • behavior
    • Drosophila melanogaster
    • food selection
    • foraging
    • gut microbiota
    • Lactobacillus
    • nutrition
    • olfaction

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Gut microbiota modifies olfactory-guided microbial preferences and foraging decisions in drosophila'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this