Meeting Abstract
The microbiome is the collection of microorganisms that occupy an individual’s skin and intestines, and it has many potential effects on an animal’s physiology. Changes in the microbiome affect an organism’s ability to tolerate certain stressors such as desiccation. To our knowledge, no study has yet examined whether gut bacteria have any impact on an organism’s ability to tolerate dry conditions, which is important to understand how animals may react to a drier climate. The Gibbs lab has selected for desiccation resistance in replicated populations of Drosophila melanogaster for over 225 generations, resulting in desiccation-selected (D) flies that survive desiccation ~50% longer than fed control (F) flies. D and F flies had similar numbers of gut bacteria. We generated axenic flies by washing embryos with bleach and rearing them on sterile media. Axenic D and F flies survived desiccation stress ~20% longer than non-sterile controls. Axenic flies did not lose water more slowly than non-sterile controls; instead they were larger and contained more water. Our results suggest that the gut microbiome may affect insect survival in arid environments. Supported by the McNair Scholars Institute at UNLV and an REU supplement to NSF award IOS-1355210.
