You are what you eat
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Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Fat Preference: A Novel Model of Eating Behavior in Rats
Published on: June 27, 2014
Zenobia Lewis1, Chloe Heys1, Mark Prescott1
1Institute of Integrative Biology; School of Life Sciences; University of Liverpool; Liverpool, UK.
Abstract:
Gut bacteria is now considered as an additional host organ, and it has been shown that they have important influences on host developmental and physiological processes. More recently gut bacteria have additionally been implicated in behavioral processes. We showed that in two species of Drosophila, gut bacteria variation affects behavior, altering partner investment in copulation in relation to whether individuals were familiar (i.e., having developed in the same environment), or were related. This suggests that gut bacteria play a role in kin recognition in these species. We suggest that this phenomenon is associated with gut bacteria influencing the scent profiles used by Drosophila in mate choice.
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