Exploring the functional dynamics of symbiont microbiota in Drosophila fruit fly development

The immature stages represent a key period in the life cycle of many organisms, characterised by the transition from the juvenile to the reproductive stage. Insects frequently depend on an intricate interplay with microbial communities in their environment, which determines the outcomes of their larval development. Within these communities, various microbial members exhibit traits that can either promote or hinder the larval survival, growth and well-being. The composition of microbial symbionts can undergo significant changes, thereby influencing the developmental success of the host insects. Our research aims to assess the extent to which Drosophila-associated microbial communities undergo compositional and functional changes during larval development. Despite advances in understanding microbial dynamics in different ecosystems, such as plant environments, the dynamics within the Drosophila microbiota remain largely unexplored. Therefore, this study hypothesises that the activity of Drosophila larvae induces dynamic shifts in the associated microbiota. To investigate this hypothesis, a collection of fungi and bacteria proliferating during Drosophila larval stages will be established, allowing controlled experiments to unravel insect-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions in response to different environments. To achieve this, microbiota from different plant breeding substrates and time points will be plated on selective media to facilitate isolation of distinct colonies of bacteria and fungi. Identification of isolates will be performed using DNA barcoding and metabarcoding. The cultured Drosophila-associated microbes will then be used to construct synthetic communities to study their role in Drosophila development. With this study we hope to deepen our understanding of the influence of habitat-dependent temporal dynamics in microbial symbiont communities on host development. Additionally, we seek to establish an experimental framework for the functional analysis of insect-microbe interactions within realistic field conditions.