Genotype and environmental effects shape the house fly microbiome (Musca domestica)

Abstract

Animal-associated bacteria (microbiomes) can have important effects on host phenotypes and fitness. Microbiomes can also vary across individuals in ways that depend on host genotype and environment. Temperature is an especially important environmental factor that can affect the microbiome in a way that depends on host genotype and affects organismal fitness. Thermal stress, in particular, can have dramatic effects on animal microbiomes, including dysbiosis and immune dysregulation. However, most previous work on extreme temperature effects has focused on heat stress. To investigate how low temperatures affect the microbiome of a warm-adapted animal, we characterized the bacterial communities associated with house fly (Musca domestica) males raised at cool (18{degrees}C) and warm (29{degrees}C) temperatures. We sampled two distinct genotypes in these experimental flies, each of which is associated with a particular thermal environment (warm or cool). We contrasted our experimental results with the microbiomes we characterized in wild house flies from two collection sites with different large animals present. We found that temperature has a much stronger effect on the house fly microbiome than the host genotype in our experimental flies. Consistent with the strong environmental effects in our experiment, we found that wild house fly microbiomes differed between the two collection sites. Despite these environmental effects on the house fly microbiome, we did not detect evidence for dysbiosis associated with either cool or warm temperatures. We therefore conclude that the environment has more of an effect on the house fly microbiome than host genotype, but dysbiosis does not occur within the temperature range we considered.