Latitudinal Clines in Climate and Sleep Patterns Shape Disease Outcomes in Drosophila melanogaster Infected by Metarhizium anisopliae

• Published in: Ecology and evolution Vol. 15; no. 3; pp. e71047 - n/a
• Main Authors: Nan, Mintong, Wang, Jonathan B., Siokis, Michail, St. Leger, Raymond J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.03.2025; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Adaptation; biomes and disease resistance; Climate change; Clines; Desiccation; Disease; Disease Ecology; Disease resistance; disease resistance and global Drosophila populations; Drosophila melanogaster; Drosophila sickness sleep and disease resistance; Ecosystems; Evolution; Forests; Fruit flies; Genetic diversity; Geographical distribution; geography and sleep patterns; Humidity; Hypothesis testing; Infections; Insects; joint clinal evolution of sleep and disease resistance; Males; Metarhizium anisopliae; Metarhizium anisopliae fungal infection; Pathogens; Physiology; sex and mating status modulate infection; Sleep; Mauritius; Africa; joint clinal evolution of sleep and disease resistance; biomes and disease resistance; disease resistance and global Drosophila populations; Drosophila sickness sleep and disease resistance; Metarhizium anisopliae fungal infection; geography and sleep patterns; sex and mating status modulate infection
• ISSN: 2045-7758; 2045-7758
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.71047

ABSTRACT Major latitudinal clines have been observed in Drosophila melanogaster, a human commensal that originated in tropical Africa and has subsequently dispersed globally to colonize temperate habitats. However, despite the crucial role pathogens play in species distribution, our understanding of how geographical factors influence disease susceptibility remains limited. This investigation explored the effects of latitudinal clines and biomes on disease resistance using the common fly pathogen Metarhizium anisopliae and 43 global Drosophila melanogaster populations. The findings revealed correlations between disease resistance and latitudinal gradients of sleep duration, temperature, and humidity. Although enhanced defenses may be driven by fungal diversity at tropical latitudes, the most disease‐resistant tropical males also showed the highest susceptibility to desiccation. This suggests potential trade‐offs between abiotic stress resistance, necessary for survival in temperate habitats, and disease resistance. Furthermore, the study uncovered interactions between sex, mating status, sleep, and abiotic stresses, affecting disease resistance. Notably, longer‐sleeping males and virgin flies survived infections longer, with additional daytime sleep post‐infection being protective, particularly in the most resistant fly lines. These observations support the hypothesis that sleep and disease defense are intertwined traits linked to organismal fitness and subject to joint clinal evolution. We examined how environmental and genetic factors influence the ability of Drosophila melanogaster populations to defend themselves against a common fly pathogen. Tropical flies, particularly males and virgins (of either sex) slept more and were more resistant to disease than seasonal populations, indicating that geographical location, sex, mating status, and sleep interact to influence disease resistance. This research addresses themes of species adaptations in diverse ecological settings, the evolution of host‐pathogen interactions, and how closely related individuals exposed to the same infection can have different outcomes.