Host diet mediates a negative relationship between abundance and diversity of Drosophila gut microbiota

• Published in: Ecology and evolution Vol. 8; no. 18; pp. 9491 - 9502
• Main Authors: Erkosar, Berra, Yashiro, Erika, Zajitschek, Felix, Friberg, Urban, Maklakov, Alexei A., Meer, Jan R., Kawecki, Tadeusz J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.09.2018; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Abundance; Biodiversity; Composition; Diet; Digestive system; Drosophila; Ecological effects; Ecosystem assessment; Ecosystems; Gastrointestinal tract; host-microbe interactions; Insects; intermediate productivity hypothesis; Intestinal microflora; Intestine; Microbiota; Microorganisms; Nutrient concentrations; Nutrients; Original Research; productivity-diversity relationship; Taxonomy; Yeast; Yeasts; microbiota; diet; host–microbe interactions; intermediate productivity hypothesis; Drosophila; productivity–diversity relationship; host-microbe interactions; productivity-diversity relationship
• ISSN: 2045-7758; 2045-7758
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4444

Nutrient supply to ecosystems has major effects on ecological diversity, but it is unclear to what degree the shape of this relationship is general versus dependent on the specific environment or community. Although the diet composition in terms of the source or proportions of different nutrient types is known to affect gut microbiota composition, the relationship between the quantity of nutrients supplied and the abundance and diversity of the intestinal microbial community remains to be elucidated. Here, we address this relationship using replicate populations of Drosophila melanogaster maintained over multiple generations on three diets differing in the concentration of yeast (the only source of most nutrients). While a 6.5‐fold increase in yeast concentration led to a 100‐fold increase in the total abundance of gut microbes, it caused a major decrease in their alpha diversity (by 45–60% depending on the diversity measure). This was accompanied by only minor shifts in the taxonomic affiliation of the most common operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Thus, nutrient concentration in host diet mediates a strong negative relationship between the nutrient abundance and microbial diversity in the Drosophila gut ecosystem. Using experimental Drosophila melanogaster populations, we studied the effect of quantity of nutrients in host's diet on gut microbiota community. While an increase in nutrient (yeast) concentration in the diet led to greater microbiota abundance, it also resulted in a sharp decline in their alpha diversity. This resembles the productivity–diversity relationship often found in grassland plant communities but not reported previously for gut microbiota.