Gut microbiome profoundly affects many aspects of host physiology and behaviors. Here we report that gut microbiome modulates aggressive behaviors in Drosophila. We found that germ-free males showed substantial decrease in inter-male aggression, which could be rescued by microbial re-colonization. These germ-free males are not as competitive as wild-type males for mating with females, although they displayed regular levels of locomotor and courtship behaviors. We further found that Drosophila microbiome interacted with diet during a critical developmental period for the proper expression of octopamine and manifestation of aggression in adult males. These findings provide insights into how gut microbiome modulates specific host behaviors through interaction with diet during development.
Thrombophilia is a multifactorial disorder involving environmental and genetic factors. Well-known factors that result in predisposition to congenital disorders associated with thrombophilia include antithrombin deficiency, protein C and S deficiency, Factor V Leiden mutation, abnormal prothrombin and antiphospholipid syndrome. The present study revealed an association between a mutation of the F2 gene, which codes for coagulation factor II, thrombin, and the risk of thrombophilia in a Han Chinese family, of which four members (I-2, II-2, II-3 and III-1) had a history of deep venous thromboembolism. The disease was measured in this family using laboratory measurements and computed tomography angiography. To identify the abnormality underlying the increased thrombophilia risk, whole-exome sequencing technology was used to analyze two affected individuals (II-2 and III-1). An exonic missense F2 mutation, T165M (NM_000506:c.C494T:p.T165M;rs5896), was identified from a total of 2,222 and 2,203 genetic variations observed in the two affected individuals, respectively, which were subsequently filtered and confirmed using Sanger sequencing. I-2, II-3 and III-1 shared this mutation with the proband (II-2), and II-6 had a heterozygous form of the mutation. This deleterious mutation was not identified in normal controls. The present study may improve understanding of the function of the F2 gene.
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