Presenters: Emma Davis
Authors: Emma Davis, John Chaston
Faculty Advisor: John Chaston
Institution: Brigham Young University
> > > Scientists have developed many methods for understanding key bacteria in the microbiota and how it affects an organism’s life history. Using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster is a cost and time effective method to study bacterial abundance. It has been shown that the presence of Lactobacilli and Acetobacter are negatively correlated in the microbiota of D. melanogaster. (Walters 2020) The presence of these bacterial groups is also associated with the fly's location. This project examines the microbiota of D. melanogaster flies sampled across different latitudes in Utah. I will use the software QIIME2 to analyze the 16s sequence data weighted and unweighted Unifrac distances with a PERMANOVA test. First, I will see is if there is a change in LAB and AAB abundance in D. melanogaster between the different latitudinal sampling sights. I will also see if the bacterial abundance changes across the peach and soil samples taken at each location. I am looking for a significant p-value in a PERMANOVA that tests if microbiota composition varies with latitude. I will also use ANCOM to identify the specific microbial groups whose abundance varies with latitude, Determining the differences in fly microbiota composition and individual bacterial abundance between sampling locations will allow me to test if there are correlations between latitude and overall composition or individual bacterial groups. This comparison will help me to determine if the bacterial abundance is due to the fly’s environment versus the bacteria that persists because of the fly’s latitudinal location. Using a PERMANOVA test allows me to determine the significance of bacterial abundance shared between the fly and the environmental samples. A low similarity between the fly and its environment and a significant similarity between flies sampled in a location provides evidence that bacterial abundance is correlated with geographic location.