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Rearing the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster Under Axenic and Gnotobiotic Conditions

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Published on: July 30, 2016

Population mixing mediates the intestinal flora composition and facilitates invasiveness in a globally invasive fruit

Yidan Wang¹, Zhihong Li¹, Zihua Zhao²

¹Department of Plant Biosecurity & MARA Key Laboratory of Surveillance and Management for Plant Quarantine Pests, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.

|September 27, 2023

Abstract

Background:

Changes in population heterozygosity and genetic diversity play important roles in mediating life history traits of organisms; these changes often lead to phenotypic evolution in offspring, which become superior to their parents. In the present study, we examined phenotypic differentiation, the intestinal microbiome composition, and metabolism shift in the oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) by comparing an inbred (monophyletic) original population and an outbred (mixed) invasive population.

Results:

The results showed that the outbred population of B. dorsalis had significantly higher biomass, adult longevity, and fecundity than the inbred population. Additionally, intestinal microflora analysis revealed that both Diutina rugosa and Komagataeibacter saccharivorans were significantly enriched in the outbred population with higher genetic heterozygosity. D. rugosa enrichment altered amino acid metabolism in the intestinal tract, and supplementing essential amino acids (e.g. histidine and glutamine) in the diet led to an increase in pupal weight of the outbred population. Additionally, transcriptome analysis revealed that the HSPA1S gene was significantly downregulated in the outbred population. HSPA1S was involved in activation of the JNK-MAPK pathway through negative regulation, caused the upregulation of juvenile hormone (JH), and led to an increase in biomass in the outbred flies.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the outbred population had an altered intestinal microbe composition, mediating metabolism and transcriptional regulation, leading to phenotypic differentiation; this may be a potential mechanism driving the global invasion of B. dorsalis. Thus, multiple introductions could lead to invasiveness enhancement in B. dorsalis through population mixing, providing preliminary evidence that changes in the intestinal microbiome can promote biological invasion. Video Abstract.

Keywords:

Bactrocera dorsalis Inbred Microbiome Outbred Phenotype Transcriptome

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