Characterization of non-pathogenic and entomopathogenic bacterial oral infections in Drosophila melanogaster
Open AccessDrosophila melanogaster has been used as a model organism to study the gut due to its structural and functional similarity with the mammalian gut, while having a more cultivable microbiome (Capo et al., 2019). Drosophila in nature are exposed to a variety of microorganisms, some of which have beneficial effects, but others present immune challenges for theseanimals’ gut. Entomopathogens are a large group of organisms that have lethal effects on the insect’s survival. Photorhabdus luminescens, a Gram negative, terrestrial, entomopathogenic bacterium exists in symbiotic relationship with the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora.While the effects of a P. luminescens infection by injection into the bloodstream in D. melanogaster have been characterized, there is little to no knowledge of the innate immune response during an oral P. luminescens infection in D. melanogaster. The aim of this study was to phenotypically characterize the effects of a pathogenic P. luminescens and non-pathogenic E. coli oral infection on Drosophila melanogaster. Oral exposure to P. luminescens and E. coli altered survival significantly in Drosophila adults while only exposure to P. luminescens resulted in significantly lower survival in Drosophila larvae. A bacterial load analysis indicated a significantly higher larvae P. luminescens load 24 hours post infection compared to 12 and 17 hours post infection. However, Drosophila larvaeE. coli loads were greater compared to P. luminescens at 12, 17 and 24 hours post infection. These findings can be extrapolated to future studies to help understand these phenotypes by studying the interactions between the bacteria and Drosophila immune signaling pathways or the gut microbiome. Exploiting this novel information will help improve agricultural pest management as well as provide insights to aid in drug development for oral infections in other organisms.
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