Affiliation:
1. Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
2. Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Geneva, New York, USA
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Drosophila suzukii
Matsumura is an invasive species of vinegar fly that has become a prominent pest of berries and other soft-skinned fruits. Unlike most other
Drosophila
species, female
D. suzukii
flies lay their eggs in ripening and ripe fruits and larvae develop within the fruit. To understand how
D. suzukii
larvae utilize ripe and ripening fruits, which usually have low levels of protein, we investigated the microbiota of field-captured and laboratory-reared
D. suzukii
flies and further examined the combined influence of diet and microbes on host fitness. Field-captured flies were associated with diverse microbiota, which varied significantly with sampling location and season. In contrast, laboratory-reared flies possessed strikingly lower bacterial abundance and diversity. A comparison of conventionally reared (CR) and germ-free (GF) flies revealed that the microbiota of
D. suzukii
does not alter its development significantly but decreases its life span under conditions of a nutrient-sufficient diet. However, the microbiota is essential for
D. suzukii
development on strawberry-based or blueberry-based fruit diets. This developmental failure could be rescued by reassociation with single bacterial or fungal species or by the addition of a high quantity of heat-killed microbes. In addition, we found that proteins are limiting with respect to fly development on fruit-based diets and that GF flies show signs of protein starvation. Taken together, our study results demonstrate that the microbiota provides key proteins required for the development of
D. suzukii
reared on fresh fruit. Our work shows that the impact of microbes on fly fitness depends strongly on nutritional conditions.
IMPORTANCE
Animals are commonly associated with specific microbes, which play important roles in host development and fitness. However, little information about the function of microbes has been available for the important invasive pest
Drosophila suzukii
, also known as Spotted wing drosophila. Our study results demonstrate that the abundance and structure of microbiota in
D. suzukii
are strongly affected by the environment, where microbes have variable roles depending on the nutritional situation. For instance, we found that the presence of microbes is deleterious for flies growing on a protein-rich diet and yet is beneficial for flies growing on a diet of protein-poor fruits. Additionally, germ-free flies must feed on microbes to obtain the necessary protein for larval development on strawberries and blueberries. Our report validates the complexity seen in host-microbe interactions and may provide information useful for
D. suzukii
pest control.
Funder
New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Cited by
121 articles.
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