Commensal bacteria and essential amino acids control food choice behavior and reproduction

Abstract

Choosing the right nutrients to consume is essential to health and wellbeing across species. However, the factors that influence these decisions are poorly understood. This is particularly true for dietary proteins, which are important determinants of lifespan and reproduction. We show that in Drosophila melanogaster, essential amino acids (eAAs) and the concerted action of the commensal bacteria Acetobacter pomorum and Lactobacilli are critical modulators of food choice. Using a chemically defined diet, we show that the absence of any single eAA from the diet is sufficient to elicit specific appetites for amino acid (AA)-rich food. Furthermore, commensal bacteria buffer the animal from the lack of dietary eAAs: both increased yeast appetite and decreased reproduction induced by eAA deprivation are rescued by the presence of commensals. Surprisingly, these effects do not seem to be due to changes in AA titers, suggesting that gut bacteria act through a different mechanism to change behavior and reproduction. Thus, eAAs and commensal bacteria are potent modulators of feeding decisions and reproductive output. This demonstrates how the interaction of specific nutrients with the microbiome can shape behavioral decisions and life history traits.

Obesity genetics and cardiometabolic health: Potential for risk prediction

“…It is also possible that changes in the microbiome and specific amino acids influence nutrient‐specific appetite regulation via hypothalamic receptors based on evidence derived from non‐mammalian as well as several recent mammalian and human studies . Recent metagenome‐wide studies of gut microbiota were able to differentiate between useful and pathogenic microbes, and identified a set of bacteria associated with gut oxidative stress response linked with diabetes complications and inflammatory bowel disease …”

“…108 It is also becoming evident that the intestinal microbiome regulates immune cells 109 It is also possible that changes in the microbiome and specific amino acids influence nutrient-specific appetite regulation via hypothalamic receptors based on evidence derived from non-mammalian as well as several recent mammalian and human studies. 113 Recent metagenome-wide studies of gut microbiota were able to differentiate between useful and pathogenic microbes, and identified a set of bacteria associated with gut oxidative stress response linked with diabetes complications and inflammatory bowel disease. 114,115 Furthermore, evidence suggests that the severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is influenced by a dysfunctional microbiome and that the dysbiosis is associated with hepatic inflammation leading to fibrosis.…”

Organisms as Persisters

“…The symbiont populations do not just come along for the ride. They are vital for the persistence of the system, and are increasingly shown to have significant effects on the macrobial phenotype (e.g., Leitão-Gonçalves et al 2017). That is to say, for any multicellular system that persists, it does so, in part, because of its holobiotic structure.…”

The role of the brain–gut–microbiota axis in psychology: The importance of considering gut microbiota in the development, perpetuation, and treatment of psychological disorders

“…This means that these microorganisms are under selective pressure to ensure their own survival and must therefore compete for available resources (Hibbing, Fuqua, Parsek, & Peterson, ). As such, microbes are proposed to manipulate the eating behavior of the host by either generating cravings for foods that they thrive on or those which suppress their competitors, or by influencing mood which leads to the intake of foods that enhance that species' fitness (Alcock et al, ; Leitao‐Goncalves et al, ).…”