Many microbes induce striking behavioral changes in their animal hosts, but how they achieve this is poorly understood, especially at the molecular level. Mechanistic understanding has been largely constrained by the lack of an experimental system amenable to molecular manipulation. We recently discovered a strain of the behavior-manipulating fungal pathogen Entomophthora muscae infecting wild Drosophila, and established methods to infect D. melanogaster in the lab. Lab-infected flies manifest the moribund behaviors characteristic of E. muscae infection: hours before death, they climb upward, extend their proboscides, affixing in place, then raise their wings, clearing a path for infectious spores to launch from their abdomens. We found that E. muscae invades the nervous system, suggesting a direct means by which the fungus could induce behavioral changes. Given the vast molecular toolkit available for D. melanogaster, we believe this new system will enable rapid progress in understanding how E. muscae manipulates host behavior.

13 14Many microbes induce striking behavioral changes in their animal hosts, but how they achieve these effects 15 is poorly understood, especially at the molecular level. This is due in large part to the lack of a robust system 16 amenable to modern molecular manipulation. We recently discovered a strain of the behavior-manipulating 27established E. muscae system will permit rapid progress in understanding how microbes manipulate animal 28 behavior.

No abstract