Metabolic cross-feeding in imbalanced diets allows gut microbes to improve reproduction and alter host behaviour

Abstract

In the fly Drosophila melanogaster commensal bacteria and dietary essential amino acids control food choice behavior. Here, by using chemically defined diets and metabolomics, the authors show that Acetobacter pomorum (Ap) and Lactobacilli plantarum (Lp) engage in a mutualistic metabolic relationship to overcome detrimental diets, and identify Ap as the bacterium altering the host’s feeding decisions.