The gut microbiome greatly influences the host organism. However, it is still unknown how microbial diversity affects systemic functions and how the microbiome content and functions change across the host lifespan. A study in Scientific Reports studying Drosophila shows that transplanting microbiomes from flies of different ages affects the host in an unexpected and complex manner. When the researchers fed the flies with a suspension enriched with microbiome from either young or old flies or a control feed for weeks, microbial diversity increased in all groups as the flies aged. When analyzing the composition of the enriched microbiomes, the team observed different bacterial populations when comparing animals enriched with young or old microbiomes, with both showing differences from control animals. This observation suggests that microbial enrichment alone is sufficient to alter the microbiome of flies. Additionally, when studying fly longevity and locomotion, supplemented groups lived 10% longer, but there was no effect on activity when comparing the three groups. These results show that in flies, microbiome transplants can alter the host microbiome, but it is not enough to change their phenotype.

Original reference: Wesseltoft, J.B. et al. Sci. Rep. 14, 7799 (2024)

肠道微生物组极大地影响宿主生物体。然而，微生物多样性如何影响系统功能以及微生物组内容和功能在宿主生命周期中如何变化仍不清楚。《科学报告》中一项研究果蝇的研究表明，移植不同年龄果蝇的微生物组会以意想不到的复杂方式影响宿主。当研究人员用富含年轻或年老果蝇微生物组的悬浮液或对照饲料喂养果蝇数周时，随着果蝇年龄的增长，所有组中的微生物多样性都增加了。在分析富集微生物组的组成时，研究小组在比较富含年轻或年老微生物组的动物时观察到了不同的细菌种群，两者都显示出与对照动物的差异。这一观察结果表明，仅微生物富集就足以改变果蝇的微生物组。此外，在研究苍蝇寿命和运动时，补充组的寿命延长了 10%，但与三组相比，对活动没有影响。这些结果表明，在果蝇中，微生物组移植可以改变宿主微生物组，但不足以改变其表型。

原始参考文献： Wesseltoft，JB 等人。科学。代表。14、7799 (2024)