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Section Symposium

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Life is Interesting: Multi-species Interactions Spanning Diverse Kingdoms

The role of gut bacteria in host fruit colonization and foraging of Drosophila suzukii

Sunday, November 5, 2023
9:23 AM – 9:50 AM ET
Location: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Chesapeake J-K
In-Person
Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is a global pest of small fruits. In the US, it was first detected in California in 2008 and has since swept across states, according to over USD700 million losses to fruit and vegetable production. Our lab is interested in the extent to which the fly gut microbiome impacts D. suzukii colonization of fruits. In this presentation, I will share our latest work that highlights how the transmission of specific fly-associated bacteria to fruit during foraging affects fruit microbial and chemical profiles, which can generate a feedback loop to facilitate pest infestation. In addition, we discovered that the gut microbiome exerts sex-specific effects on fly foraging, locomotion, and oviposition behavior, which paves the way for future work investigating the underlying molecular mechanisms. By identifying the essential microbial and chemical factors in D. suzukii-fruit interactions, our research provides new insights for developing novel approaches to manage D. suzukii. These approaches include disrupting symbiotic microbial functions and leveraging microbial-derived semiochemicals to improve the effectiveness of insect attractants.