Journal
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
Volume 8, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-28764-5
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Funding
- Ministry of Education [MOE-2013-T2-2-054]
- A*STAR Scientific Scholars Fund
- Singapore International Graduate Award from the A*STAR Graduate Academy
- A*STAR Joint Council Office [1231AFG030, 1431AFG120]
- Biomedical Research Council
- Ministry of Health block grant
- Singapore National Research Foundation [NRF-RF2010-06]
- LKC School of Medicine SUG
- Swedish Grant VR
- SCELSE
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In animals, commensal microbes modulate various physiological functions, including behavior. While microbiota exposure is required for normal behavior in mammals, it is not known how widely this dependency is present in other animal species. We proposed the hypothesis that the microbiome has a major influence on the behavior of the vinegar fly (Drosophila melanogaster), a major invertebrate model organism. Several assays were used to test the contribution of the microbiome on some well-characterized behaviors: defensive behavior, sleep, locomotion, and courtship in microbe-bearing, control flies and two generations of germ-free animals. None of the behaviors were largely influenced by the absence of a microbiome, and the small or moderate effects were not generalizable between replicates and/or generations. These results refute the hypothesis, indicating that the Drosophila microbiome does not have a major influence over several behaviors fundamental to the animal's survival and reproduction. The impact of commensal microbes on animal behaviour may not be broadly conserved.
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