Microbiota-dependent changes in circadian rhythms and metabolic traits in Drosophila melanogaster

The gut microbiome plays an important role in shaping insect nutrition and metabolism, and there is growing evidence of its involvement in regulating host circadian rhythm. However, the relationship between the gut microbiota, diet, and circadian rhythms remains unclear. To examine how diet-microbiota interactions affect circadian rhythm and its correlation with metabolic traits, we compared the circadian rhythms and metabolic indices of conventional, axenic, and gnotobiotic Drosophila melanogaster on synthetic diets of systematically varied protein to carbohydrate ratios. The data is used to build predictive generalized additive model on microbiome-dependent changes in host circadian rhythms and metabolism. Our study thus provides insights into how microbiota shifts affect host behavior and physiology and furthers our understanding of the gut microbiota's impact on host health.