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. 2010 Nov 16;107(46):20051-6.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1009906107. Epub 2010 Nov 1.

Commensal bacteria play a role in mating preference of Drosophila melanogaster

Gil Sharon  1 , Daniel Segal, John M Ringo, Abraham Hefetz, Ilana Zilber-Rosenberg, Eugene Rosenberg
Affiliations

Commensal bacteria play a role in mating preference of Drosophila melanogaster

Gil Sharon et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Erratum in

  • Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Mar 19;110(12):4853

Abstract

Development of mating preference is considered to be an early event in speciation. In this study, mating preference was achieved by dividing a population of Drosophila melanogaster and rearing one part on a molasses medium and the other on a starch medium. When the isolated populations were mixed, "molasses flies" preferred to mate with other molasses flies and "starch flies" preferred to mate with other starch flies. The mating preference appeared after only one generation and was maintained for at least 37 generations. Antibiotic treatment abolished mating preference, suggesting that the fly microbiota was responsible for the phenomenon. This was confirmed by infection experiments with microbiota obtained from the fly media (before antibiotic treatment) as well as with a mixed culture of Lactobacillus species and a pure culture of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from starch flies. Analytical data suggest that symbiotic bacteria can influence mating preference by changing the levels of cuticular hydrocarbon sex pheromones. The results are discussed within the framework of the hologenome theory of evolution.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
(A) Schematic representation of the experimental procedure. A population of flies was divided, serially transferred in two different media, and then examined for mating preference. After rearing the flies for a number of generations on starch or CMY media, each population was grown separately for one generation on CMY medium and then tested for mating preference. The multiple-choice mating tests were performed in 24-well plastic plates; each well contained four flies: one male and one female starch-reared and one male and one female CMY-reared. Matings were recorded every 4 min for 1 h. (B) Mating preference tests of D. melanogaster after growing 11 generations on starch or CMY medium.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Mating preference tests of D. melanogaster after growth for different numbers of generations on either starch or CMY medium. The SII is plotted for each generation examined. Bars indicate the SEM.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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