Gut microbiota influences female choice and fecundity in the nuptial gift-giving species, Drosophila subobscura (Diptera: Drosophilidae)
Recently, there has been rapidly growing interest in the effects of the microbiota on host physiology and behaviour. Due to the nutritional value of bacteria, gut microflora may be particularly important in species that present nuptial gifts during courtship. Here, we explore whether the presence or...
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Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Science
2017-10-01
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doaj-9d92be9dad44493899f474ab7800ccc92021-04-16T20:35:51ZengInstitute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of ScienceEuropean Journal of Entomology1210-57591802-88292017-10-01114143944510.14411/eje.2017.056eje-201701-0056Gut microbiota influences female choice and fecundity in the nuptial gift-giving species, Drosophila subobscura (Diptera: Drosophilidae)Benjamin S. WALSH0Chloe HEYS1Zenobia LEWISSchool of Life Sciences / Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, L69 7ZB Liverpool, UK; e-mails: bwalsh@liverpool.ac.uk, bs0u911f@liverpool.ac.uk, z.lewis@liverpool.ac.ukSchool of Life Sciences / Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, L69 7ZB Liverpool, UK; e-mails: bwalsh@liverpool.ac.uk, bs0u911f@liverpool.ac.uk, z.lewis@liverpool.ac.ukRecently, there has been rapidly growing interest in the effects of the microbiota on host physiology and behaviour. Due to the nutritional value of bacteria, gut microflora may be particularly important in species that present nuptial gifts during courtship. Here, we explore whether the presence or absence of gut microbiota in males and females of the nuptial gift-giving species Drosophila subobscura (Collin, 1936) alters mating behaviour in terms of female preference, male investment, and female fecundity. We found that females that had been fed antibiotics, compared to females with intact gut bacteria, were more willing to mate with a male that had been fed normally. However female fecundity was higher when both males and females lacked gut bacteria compared to both individuals having a full complement of gut bacteria. This implies that the presence of the microbiota acts to reduce female fecundity in this species, and that male gut bacterial content influences female fecundity. Our results provide further evidence to the growing consensus that the microbiota of an individual may have important effects on both reproductive behaviour and physiology, and suggest that it may also contribute to the nutritional value of the nuptial gift in this system.https://www.eje.cz/artkey/eje-201701-0056_Gut_microbiota_influences_female_choice_and_fecundity_in_the_nuptial_gift-giving_species_Drosophila_subobscura.phpdipteradrosophilidaedrosophila subobscuramicrobiotagut bacteriamate preferencereproductive success |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Benjamin S. WALSH Chloe HEYS Zenobia LEWIS |
spellingShingle |
Benjamin S. WALSH Chloe HEYS Zenobia LEWIS Gut microbiota influences female choice and fecundity in the nuptial gift-giving species, Drosophila subobscura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) European Journal of Entomology diptera drosophilidae drosophila subobscura microbiota gut bacteria mate preference reproductive success |
author_facet |
Benjamin S. WALSH Chloe HEYS Zenobia LEWIS |
author_sort |
Benjamin S. WALSH |
title |
Gut microbiota influences female choice and fecundity in the nuptial gift-giving species, Drosophila subobscura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) |
title_short |
Gut microbiota influences female choice and fecundity in the nuptial gift-giving species, Drosophila subobscura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) |
title_full |
Gut microbiota influences female choice and fecundity in the nuptial gift-giving species, Drosophila subobscura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) |
title_fullStr |
Gut microbiota influences female choice and fecundity in the nuptial gift-giving species, Drosophila subobscura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Gut microbiota influences female choice and fecundity in the nuptial gift-giving species, Drosophila subobscura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) |
title_sort |
gut microbiota influences female choice and fecundity in the nuptial gift-giving species, drosophila subobscura (diptera: drosophilidae) |
publisher |
Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Science |
series |
European Journal of Entomology |
issn |
1210-5759 1802-8829 |
publishDate |
2017-10-01 |
description |
Recently, there has been rapidly growing interest in the effects of the microbiota on host physiology and behaviour. Due to the nutritional value of bacteria, gut microflora may be particularly important in species that present nuptial gifts during courtship. Here, we explore whether the presence or absence of gut microbiota in males and females of the nuptial gift-giving species Drosophila subobscura (Collin, 1936) alters mating behaviour in terms of female preference, male investment, and female fecundity. We found that females that had been fed antibiotics, compared to females with intact gut bacteria, were more willing to mate with a male that had been fed normally. However female fecundity was higher when both males and females lacked gut bacteria compared to both individuals having a full complement of gut bacteria. This implies that the presence of the microbiota acts to reduce female fecundity in this species, and that male gut bacterial content influences female fecundity. Our results provide further evidence to the growing consensus that the microbiota of an individual may have important effects on both reproductive behaviour and physiology, and suggest that it may also contribute to the nutritional value of the nuptial gift in this system. |
topic |
diptera drosophilidae drosophila subobscura microbiota gut bacteria mate preference reproductive success |
url |
https://www.eje.cz/artkey/eje-201701-0056_Gut_microbiota_influences_female_choice_and_fecundity_in_the_nuptial_gift-giving_species_Drosophila_subobscura.php |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT benjaminswalsh gutmicrobiotainfluencesfemalechoiceandfecundityinthenuptialgiftgivingspeciesdrosophilasubobscuradipteradrosophilidae AT chloeheys gutmicrobiotainfluencesfemalechoiceandfecundityinthenuptialgiftgivingspeciesdrosophilasubobscuradipteradrosophilidae AT zenobialewis gutmicrobiotainfluencesfemalechoiceandfecundityinthenuptialgiftgivingspeciesdrosophilasubobscuradipteradrosophilidae |
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