View Program - 63rd Annual Drosophila Research Conference

The fruit fly Drosophila sechellia has evolved to become a dietary specialist for the fruit of Morinda citrifolia, also known as noni. This specialization is unexpected because the fruit contains toxic volatile compounds, namely octanoic acid (OA) that kills other Drosophila species. Our prior research found that adult D. sechellia flies exposed to OA had widespread down-regulation of genes with immune system functions. This suggests possible interaction between the D. sechellia microbial community and toxin resistance. Previous studies in insects have demonstrated important roles of both gut microbes and endosymbionts like Wolbachia on organismal traits including toxin resistance. In order to determine if gut microbes and/or Wolbachia contribute to D. sechellia OA resistance we made three fly lines: D. sechellia with normal microbe assemblage (gut microbes and Wolbachia), D. sechellia with normal gut microbes but no Wolbachia and D. sechellia maintained on antibiotics that have very few if any associated microbes. Ongoing experiments are testing OA resistance in these lines, identifying genome-wide gene expression differences among the lines with different microbe assemblages and 16S metagenomics analysis of the microbial community present in each of the different lines generated for this study.

Microbial Influence on Drosophila sechellia Fitness on Octanoic Acid

**Microbial Influence on Drosophila sechellia Fitness on Octanoic Acid**