The Drosophila melanogaster microbiome is modified by parasitic nematode infection
Open Access DepositedThe gut microbiome is found in the gastrointestinal system and provides its host with health advantages, particularly by controlling immunological homeostasis. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a vital model for studying the microbiome due to the availability of genetic resources and procedures. To understand the importance of microbial composition in shaping immune modulation, it is imperative to investigate the functional role of the microbiota through parasitic infection. To achieve this, we use entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) of the genus Steinernema which exhibit remarkable ability to swiftly and efficiently infect a diverse array of insect species, facilitated by the mutualistic bacteria found within their gut. Steinernema carpocapsae forms an obligate mutualistic association with the Gram-negative bacteria Xenorhabdus nematophila, which is an excellent model to study pathogen infection processes and host anti-nematode and antibacterial immune responses. Steinernema hermaphroditum harbors the mutualistic bacteria Xenorhabdus griffiniae and this nematode produces hermaphrodites in the first generation and males and females in the second generation. This study aims to examine the microbiome changes in D. melanogaster larvae in response to S. carpocapsae and S. hermaphroditum nematode infection. For this, D. melanogaster late second to early third instar Oregon-R larvae were exposed separately to S. carpocapsae TT01 and S. hermaphroditum CS34 in 96 well plates using our standard EPN infection assay. We have found that S. carpocapsae infective juveniles are more pathogenic to D. melanogaster larvae compared to the closely related S. hermaphroditum. Our preliminary analysis also indicates substantial changes in the size and composition of the D. melanogaster larval microbiome during infection with EPN nematodes compared to the uninfected controls. The obtained results serve as a foundation for succeeding studies to elucidate the EPN-specific effector molecules that alter the D. melanogaster microbiome and understand the role of the microbiome in regulating insect anti-nematode immune processes.
- All rights reserved
Notice to Authors
If you are the author of this work and you have any questions about the information on this page, please use the Contact form to get in touch with us.