title: Macronutrients mediate the functional relationship between Drosophila and Wolbachia.
abstract: Wolbachia are maternally inherited bacterial endosymbionts that naturally infect a diverse array of arthropods. They are primarily known for their manipulation of host reproductive biology, and recently, infections with Wolbachia have been proposed as a new strategy for controlling insect vectors and subsequent human-transmissible diseases. Yet, Wolbachia abundance has been shown to vary greatly between individuals and the magnitude of the effects of infection on host life-history traits and protection against infection is correlated to within-host Wolbachia abundance. It is therefore essential to better understand the factors that modulate Wolbachia abundance and effects on host fitness. Nutrition is known to be one of the most important mediators of host-symbiont interactions. Here, we used nutritional geometry to quantify the role of macronutrients on insect-Wolbachia relationships in Drosophila melanogaster. Our results show fundamental interactions between diet composition, host diet selection, Wolbachia abundance and effects on host lifespan and fecundity. The results and methods described here open a new avenue in the study of insect-Wolbachia relationships and are of general interest to numerous research disciplines, ranging from nutrition and life-history theory to public health.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia fleur_ponton@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Fleur
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ponton
authors.affiliation: Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia School of Molecular Bioscience, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raubenheimer
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Katie L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Simpson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology; D008136:Longevity / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D013559:Symbiosis; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Drosophila; Wolbachia; macronutrient; nutrition; nutritional geometry