Projects per year
Abstract
Animals experience near constant infection with microorganisms. A significant proportion of these microbiota reside in the alimentary tract. There is a growing appreciation for the roles gut microbiota play in host biology. The gut microbiota of insects, for example, have been shown to help the host overcome pathogen infection either through direct competition or indirectly by stimulating host immunity. These defenses may also be supplemented by coinfecting maternally inherited microbes such as Wolbachia. The presence of Wolbachia in a host can delay and/or reduce death caused by RNA viruses. Whether the gut microbiota of the host interacts with Wolbachia, or vice versa, the precise role of Wolbachia in antiviral protection is not known. In this study, we used 16S rDNA sequencing to characterise changes in gut microbiota composition in Drosophila melanogaster associated with Wolbachia infection and antibiotic treatment. We subsequently tested whether changes in gut composition via antibiotic treatment altered Wolbachia-mediated antiviral properties. We found that both antibiotics and Wolbachia significantly reduced the biodiversity of the gut microbiota without changing the total microbial load. We also showed that changing the gut microbiota composition with antibiotic treatment enhanced Wolbachia density but did not confer greater antiviral protection against Drosophila C virus to the host. We concluded there are significant interactions between Wolbachia and gut microbiota, but changing gut microbiota composition is not likely to be a means through which Wolbachia conveys antiviral protection to its host.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 18-25 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Invertebrate Pathology |
Volume | 143 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2017 |
Keywords
- Antiviral protection
- Drosophila C virus
- Gut microbiota
- Wolbachia
Projects
- 2 Finished
-
Optimisation of Wolbachia based control strategies to reduce dengue incidence and disease
O'Neill, S. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Hoffmann, A. A. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Simmons, C. (Chief Investigator (CI))
NHMRC - National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia)
1/01/13 → 31/12/17
Project: Research
-
Natural variation and genetic basis of dengue virus transmission rate in Australian mosquitoes
McGraw, B. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Frentiu, F. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Beebe, N. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Chenoweth, S. (Partner Investigator (PI))
NHMRC - National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia)
1/01/12 → 31/12/16
Project: Research