Authors: Lauren Heath, John Chaston
Mentors: John Chaston
Insitution: Brigham Young University
Mounting evidence shows that gut microbiota disruption is related to several physiological processes and disease development in mammals; however, the mechanisms by which these processes take place are not fully understood due to the complexity of the mammalian gut microbiome. Studying the fruit fly, Drosophila Melanogaster proves to be a valuable model for understanding the gut microbiome on a smaller scale. Previous research has identified microbiota disruption alters the fly’s ability to cope with thermal stress and causes slower chill coma recovery times. Chill coma recovery is an important survival trait and stress response in Drosophila flies. Microbiota may affect the ability of hosts to tolerate stressful situations. The purpose of this project is to determine the effect of different bacterial strains on the mechanisms of chill coma recovery through a metagenome analysis of different bacterial strains. I hypothesize that certain microbe genes will increase chill coma recovery times. To test this assumption, I will mono-associate by flooding different groups of eggs with a microbe wash and infusing their food with the same bacteria strain. After cultivation, a chill coma will be induced by placing mature adult flies in empty vials on ice for three hours, and then the time for each individual to stand up after their transfer to room temperature will be recorded. Subsequently, I will assess cold tolerance, and evaluate the rates of recovery. With this, we can further identify the mechanisms of the chill coma recovery process by pinpointing specific proteins necessary for this process through a metagenome-wide association approach (MGWA) and gene analysis. If I observe no effect of the bacterial strains on chill coma recovery times, I can test different mixes of microbes to determine if improved recovery rates are a side effect of global metabolic changes caused by decreased biodiversity in the gut of drosophila flies. Studying the metabolic processes of Drosophila allows us to unravel further the mechanisms by which gut microbes affect the fitness and health of their host. My findings may be extrapolated to further understand the human gut microbiome.