Journal
BMC MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 21, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
BMC
DOI: 10.1186/s12866-021-02168-4
Keywords
Experimental evolution; Drosophila melanogaster; Microbiome
Categories
Funding
- NSF-GRFP [DGE1656466]
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) [GM124881]
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The microbial diversity in response to host selection differed significantly across studies associated with host traits, rather than selection duration. The study suggests that incorporating the microbiome into E&R experiments can provide critical insights into host-microbiome interactions and the genomic basis of adaptation.
Background Experimental evolution has a long history of uncovering fundamental insights into evolutionary processes, but has largely neglected one underappreciated component--the microbiome. As eukaryotic hosts evolve, the microbiome may also respond to selection. However, the microbial contribution to host evolution remains poorly understood. Here, we re-analyzed genomic data to characterize the metagenomes from ten Evolve and Resequence (E&R) experiments in Drosophila melanogaster to determine how the microbiome changed in response to host selection. Results Bacterial diversity was significantly different in 5/10 studies, primarily in traits associated with metabolism or immunity. Duration of selection did not significantly influence bacterial diversity, highlighting the importance of associations with specific host traits. Conclusions Our genomic re-analysis suggests the microbiome often responds to host selection; thus, the microbiome may contribute to the response of Drosophila in E&R experiments. We outline important considerations for incorporating the microbiome into E&R experiments. The E&R approach may provide critical insights into host-microbiome interactions and fundamental insight into the genomic basis of adaptation.
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