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Title: Wolbachia modifies thermal preference in Drosophila melanogaster
Summary

Environmental variation can have profound and direct effects on fitness, fecundity, and host–symbiont interactions. Replication rates of microbes within arthropod hosts, for example, are correlated with incubation temperature but less is known about the influence of host–symbiont dynamics on environmental preference. Hence, we conducted thermal preference (Tp) assays and tested if infection status and genetic variation in endosymbiont bacteriumWolbachiaaffected temperature choice ofDrosophila melanogaster. We demonstrate that isogenic flies infected withWolbachiapreferred lower temperatures compared with uninfectedDrosophila. Moreover,Tpvaried with respect to three investigatedWolbachiavariants (wMel,wMelCS, andwMelPop). While uninfected individuals preferred 24.4°C, we found significant shifts of −1.2°C inwMel‐ and −4°C in flies infected either withwMelCS orwMelPop. We, therefore, postulate thatWolbachia‐associatedTpvariation within a host species might represent a behavioural accommodation to host–symbiont interactions and trigger behavioural self‐medication and bacterial titre regulation by the host.

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NSF-PAR ID:
10076627
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley-Blackwell
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Environmental Microbiology
Volume:
21
Issue:
9
ISSN:
1462-2912
Page Range / eLocation ID:
p. 3259-3268
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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