Oh darling I love your bacteria
November 17, 2010 in NEWS by Suzanne Elvidge
Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) can be annoying in the summer when they cluster round the kitchen compost crock, but they are also a vital weapon in evolutionary and genetic research. Research published in PNAS has suggested that fruit fly evolution may be driven by something as simple as diet and bacteria.
Source: AlphaWolf
In the research, fruit flies were fed on a molasses-based or starch-based diet, and then allowed to mate. Female fruit flies tended to choose males that eat the same diet that they did. This choice preference started after one generation and lasted for 37 generations. Once the researchers treated the flies with antibiotics, the females became less specific in their choices, and mated with males that had been fed with either diet, suggesting that it was the symbiotic bacteria rather than the diet that influenced the choice. This was confirmed when the researchers cultured the bacteria and re-infected the flies. The bacteria seemed to modify the flies’ pheromones, and by affected the mate choice, this could potentially help to drive evolution.
And a bit on insect brain evolution – researchers looking at insect brains believe that the development was driven by the insects’ role as parasites early in their evolution.
See Genome Engineering on the Carnival of Evolution
http://thedispersalofdarwin.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/start-2011-off-with-some-evolution-the-carnival-of-evolution