Antibiotics increase aggression behavior and aggression-related pheromones and receptors in Drosophila melanogaster

M Grinberg; R Levin; H Neuman; O Ziv; S Turjeman; Gila Gamliel; R Nosenko; O Koren

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.104371

Antibiotics increase aggression behavior and aggression-related pheromones and receptors in Drosophila melanogaster

iScience. 2022 May 7;25(6):104371. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104371. eCollection 2022 Jun 17.

Authors

M Grinberg¹, R Levin¹, H Neuman¹, O Ziv¹, S Turjeman¹, Gila Gamliel¹, R Nosenko¹, O Koren¹

Affiliation

¹ Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Safed, Israel.

Abstract

Aggression is a behavior common in most species; it is controlled by internal and external drivers, including hormones, environmental cues, and social interactions, and underlying pathways are understood in a broad range of species. To date, though, effects of gut microbiota on aggression in the context of gut-brain communication and social behavior have not been completely elucidated. We examine how manipulation of Drosophila melanogaster microbiota affects aggression as well as the pathways that underlie the behavior in this species. Male flies treated with antibiotics exhibited significantly more aggressive behaviors. Furthermore, they had higher levels of cVA and (Z)-9 Tricosene, pheromones associated with aggression in flies, as well as higher expression of the relevant pheromone receptors and transporters OR67d, OR83b, GR32a, and LUSH. These findings suggest that aggressive behavior is, at least in part, mediated by bacterial species in flies.

Keywords: behavioral neuroscience; microbiome.