Environmental microbes promote phenotypic plasticity in reproduction and sleep behaviour.

The microbiome has been hypothesized as a driving force of phenotypic variation in host organisms that is capable of extending metabolic processes, altering development and in some cases, conferring novel functions that are critical for survival. Only a few studies have directly shown a causal role for the environmental microbiome in altering host phenotypic features. To assess the extent to which environmental microbes induce variation in host life-history traits and behaviour, we inoculated axenic Drosophila melanogaster with microbes isolated from drosophilid populations collected from two different field sites and generated two populations with distinct bacterial and fungal profiles. We show that microbes isolated from environmental sites with modest abiotic differences induce large variation in host reproduction, fatty acid levels, stress tolerance and sleep behaviour. Importantly, clearing microbes from each experimental population removed the phenotypic differences. The results support the causal role of environmental microbes as drivers of host phenotypic plasticity and potentially, rapid adaptation and evolution.

A ridge-to-reef ecosystem microbial census reveals environmental reservoirs for animal and plant microbiomes.

Microbes are found in nearly every habitat and organism on the planet, where they are critical to host health, fitness, and metabolism. In most organisms, few microbes are inherited at birth; instead, acquiring microbiomes generally involves complicated interactions between the environment, hosts, and symbionts. Despite the criticality of microbiome acquisition, we know little about where hosts' microbes reside when not in or on hosts of interest. Because microbes span a continuum ranging from generalists associating with multiple hosts and habitats to specialists with narrower host ranges, identifying potential sources of microbial diversity that can contribute to the microbiomes of unrelated hosts is a gap in our understanding of microbiome assembly. Microbial dispersal attenuates with distance, so identifying sources and sinks requires data from microbiomes that are contemporary and near enough for potential microbial transmission. Here, we characterize microbiomes across adjacent terrestrial and aquatic hosts and habitats throughout an entire watershed, showing that the most species-poor microbiomes are partial subsets of the most species-rich and that microbiomes of plants and animals are nested within those of their environments. Furthermore, we show that the host and habitat range of a microbe within a single ecosystem predicts its global distribution, a relationship with implications for global microbial assembly processes. Thus, the tendency for microbes to occupy multiple habitats and unrelated hosts enables persistent microbiomes, even when host populations are disjunct. Our whole-watershed census demonstrates how a nested distribution of microbes, following the trophic hierarchies of hosts, can shape microbial acquisition.

Stable association of a Drosophila-derived microbiota with its animal partner and the nutritional environment throughout a fly population's life cycle.

In the past years, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been extensively used to study the relationship between animals and their associated microbes. Compared to the one of wild populations, the microbiota of laboratory-reared flies is less diverse, and comprises fewer bacterial taxa; nevertheless, the main commensal bacteria found in fly microbiota always belong to the Acetobacteraceae and Lactobacillaceae families. The bacterial communities associated with the fly are environmentally acquired, and the partners engage in a perpetual re-association process. Adult flies constantly ingest and excrete microbes from and onto their feeding substrate, which are then transmitted to the next generation developing within this shared habitat. We wanted to analyze the potential changes in the bacterial community during its reciprocal transfer between the two compartments of the niche (i.e. the fly and the diet). To address this question, we used a diverse, wild-derived microbial community and analyzed its relationship with the fly population and the nutritive substrate in a given habitat. Here we show that the community was overall well maintained upon transmission to a new niche, to a new fly population and to their progeny, illustrating the stable association of a Drosophila-derived microbiota with its fly partner and the nutritional environment. These results highlight the preponderant role of the nutritional substrate in the dynamics of Drosophila/microbiota interactions, and the need to fully integrate this variable when performing such studies.

Lactobacillus plantarum favors the early emergence of fit and fertile adult Drosophila upon chronic undernutrition.

Animals are naturally surrounded by a variety of microorganisms with which they constantly interact. Among these microbes, some live in close association with a host and form its microbiota. These communities are being extensively studied, owing to their contributions to shaping various aspects of animal physiology. One of these commensal species, Lactobacillus plantarum, and in particular the L.p.WJL strain, has been shown to promote the growth of Drosophila larvae upon nutrient scarcity, allowing earlier metamorphosis and adult emergence compared with axenic individuals. As for many insects, conditions surrounding the post-embryonic development dictate key adult life history traits in Drosophila, and adjusting developmental timing according to the environment is essential for adult fitness. Thus, we wondered whether the growth acceleration induced by L.p.WJL in a context of poor nutrition could adversely impact the fitness of Drosophila adults. Here, we show that the L.p.WJL -mediated acceleration of growth is not deleterious; adults emerging after an accelerated development are as fit as their axenic siblings. Additionally, the presence of L.p.WJL even leads to a lifespan extension in nutritionally challenged males. These results demonstrate that L.p.WJL is a beneficial partner for Drosophila melanogaster through its entire life cycle. Thus, commensal bacteria allow the earlier emergence and longer survival of fit and fertile individuals and might represent one of the factors contributing to the ecological success of Drosophila.