Defining the microbiota's response to and influence on the evolution of Drosophila melanogaster

了解快速适应进化的机制对医疗保健有直接的应用。但在那里 仍然是该领域的一个主要缺口：相关微生物(微生物区系)，一个关键的潜在贡献者 在进化论研究中，动物适应性进化往往被完全忽视。这种差距的持续存在是 这是有问题的，因为微生物区系可以直接影响宿主健康相关的特征。事实上，许多动物的特征 可以根据实验室选择而进化，也可以受到微生物区系的影响。此外，当 经过实验室选择的人群在与健康相关的特征上存在差异，他们也成为 在他们的微生物区系中有所不同。这个项目的长期目标是确定微生物的作用 在动物进化论中。总体目标是解释动物如何在他们的微生物区系上选择 以及微生物区系中的变异或恒定如何影响动物进化。我们的中心假设 微生物区系影响动物进化并受其影响。这一假设得到了我们初步的支持 结果使用一个实验进化的黑腹果蝇(实验室果蝇)种群系统。 因此，拟议项目的理由是我们拥有一个显而易见的高性能和独特的系统 其中我们可以在确定微生物区系在宿主进化中的作用时回答有关因果关系的问题。 我们将通过两个具体目标来实现我们的总体目标。初步结果显示， D.被选为快速发育的黑腹鱼拥有更多的肠道微生物，但几乎没有 内共生菌与对照的比较；在目标1.1中，我们假设宿主对 沃尔巴克氏菌在这些种群中处于强烈和持续的选择之下。在Aim 1.2中，我们将确定 在实验室选择中，寄主特征的进化驱动微生物区系的变化，反之亦然 做实验。AIMS 2.1和2.2还将使用实验室选择方法来测试细菌功能是否可以 影响作用于寄主的选择压力，以及微生物区系的变异或稳定性在多大程度上影响 宿主进化的速度。我们的方法是创新的，因为它在细菌控制下进化出一种动物 条件性，并将关联性扩展到因果关系。这个项目的意义在于它将解释如何 寄主进化影响并依赖于微生物区系，并决定微生物区系能在多大程度上影响 主持人所经历的选择压力。该项目将为本科生提供研究机会。 和师父的学生。

Understanding the mechanisms of fast adaptive evolution has direct applications to healthcare. But there remains a major gap in the field: associated microorganisms (‘microbiota’), a key potential contributor to animal adaptive evolution are often entirely ignored in evolution studies. The continued existence of this gap is problematic because microbiota can directly affect host health-related traits. Indeed, many animal traits that can evolve in response to laboratory selection can also be influenced by the microbiota. Moreover, when populations undergo laboratory selection for divergence in health-related traits, they also become differentiated in their microbiota. The long-term goal of this project is to define the role of microorganisms in animal evolution. The overall objective is to explain how animals select on their microbiota during evolution and how variation or constancy in the microbiota affects animal evolution. Our central hypothesis is that microbiota affect and are affected by animal evolution. This hypothesis is supported by our preliminary results using a system of experimentally-evolved Drosophila melanogaster (laboratory fruit fly) populations. Thus, the rationale for the proposed project is that we have a demonstrably high-powered and unique system in which we can answer questions about causation when determining the role of microbiota in host evolution. We will achieve our overall objective through two specific aims. Preliminary results show that populations of D. melanogaster selected for fast development have higher abundance of gut microbes but are nearly devoid of the endosymbiont Wolbachia compared to controls; in Aim 1.1 we hypothesize that host genetic control of Wolbachia is under strong and constant selection in these populations. In Aim 1.2 we will determine whether the evolution in host traits drives the changes to the microbiota, or vice versa in a laboratory selection experiment. Aims 2.1 and 2.2 will also use the laboratory selection approach to test if bacterial functions can affect selection pressures acting on hosts, and to what extent variation or constancy of the microbiota affect host rate of evolution. Our approach is innovative because it evolves an animal under bacteria-controlled conditions and extends correlation to causation. The significance of this project is that it will explain how host evolution impacts and depends on the microbiota and determine to what extent microbiota can influence selection pressures experienced by hosts. This project will support research opportunities for undergraduate and Master’s students.