Analyses of locomotion, wing morphology, and microbiome in Drosophila nigrosparsa after recovery from antibiotics

Abstract

Antibiotics, such as tetracycline, have been frequently used to cure arthropods of Wolbachia endosymbionts. After the symbionts have been removed, the hosts must recover for some generations from the side effects of the antibiotics. However, most studies do not assess the direct and indirect longer-term effects of antibiotics used to remove Wolbachia, which may question the exact contribution of this endosymbiont to the effects observed. Here, we used the fly Drosophila nigrosparsa treated or not with tetracycline for three generations followed by two generations of recovery to investigate the effects of this antibiotic on the fly locomotion, wing morphology, and the gut microbiome. We found that antibiotic treatment did not affect fly locomotion two generations after being treated with the antibiotic. In addition, gut-microbiome restoration was tested as a more efficient solution to reduce the potential side effects of tetracycline on the microbiome. There was no significant difference in alpha diversity between gut restoration and other treatments, but the abundance of some bacterial taxa differed significantly between the gut-restoration treatment and the control. We conclude that in D. nigrosparsa the recovery period of two generations after being treated with the antibiotic is sufficient for locomotion, and suggest a general assessment of direct and indirect effects of antibiotics after a particular recovery time.

Digital microscope-assisted photography improves the accuracy of mosquito wing measurement

“…Several wing measurement protocols have been used by different studies [ [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] ]. In general, these techniques involve either the usage of calliper or the photography-based methods [ [11] , [12] , [13] ]. With its long history of application, calliper-based method has been considered as the reference technique to measure physical attributes of insects [ 14 ].…”

“…Otherwise, the specimens may be damaged. On the other hand, photography-based methods were of shorter application history than the calliper method [ 9 , 11 , 12 , 15 , 16 ]. Most photography-based methods rely on an image processing software, such as ImageJ, for onscreen measurement of specimens.…”

“…However, photography-based methods may not provide on-the-spot measurements, and the accuracy of measurements relies heavily on the labelling and recording of photos, as well as the quality of the photos taken, which may only be revealed during the image processing stage. Importantly, there are different wing measuring protocols involving usage of various steps, tools, and software [ 11 , 12 , 16 ]. This may create confusion and challenges for cross reference, comparison and meta-analyses of data collected by different parties.…”

Diversity of endosymbionts in camellia spiny whitefly, Aleurocanthus camelliae (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), estimated by 16S rRNA analysis and their biological implications

“…Because most of the bacterial symbionts found in whiteflies and other sap-sucking insects are uncultivable, one way to study the functions of these symbionts is to establish host lines that differ in symbiosis treatment and then compare the performance between different host lines. For this purpose, antibiotic treatment of the hosts has frequently been employed to cure symbionts (Zhang et al, 2020 ; Weiland et al, 2022 ). This approach has also been tried with whiteflies in B. tabaci (Shan et al, 2016 ; Lv et al, 2018 ; Andreason et al, 2020 ).…”

A Diet with Amikacin Changes the Bacteriobiome and the Physiological State of Galleria mellonella and Causes Its Resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis

“…Meanwhile, antibiotics are widely used for investigating insect microbiota or their role for some specific bacteria in the host microbiome [2][3][4][5]. Even small amounts of substances exhibiting antibiotic activity may cause the spread of resistance genes and the emergence of multidrug-resistance in microorganisms.…”