Effects of Habitat on the Bacterial Community Composition and Diversity in the Gut of Female House Flies (Musca domestica)

Authors: NEUPANE, SARASWOTI - Kansas State University; Nayduch, Dana

Submitted to: Entomological Society of America Regional Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/21/2019
Publication Date: 11/12/2019
Citation: Neupane, S., Nayduch, D. 2019. Effects of Habitat on the Bacterial Community Composition and Diversity in the Gut of Female House Flies (Musca domestica) . Meeting Abstract. 1:1.

Interpretive Summary: Adult house flies feed and breed in wide range of microbe–rich habitats and harbor and transmit bacteria including many human and animal pathogens. This study aimed to evaluate the bacterial communities in wild-caught flies and assessed the influence of habitat on community composition in order to understand the role of house flies play as a risk to humans and other animals. We characterized the bacterial communities in the gut of female house flies collected from three different environments in Kansas: agricultural (beef cattle feedlot), urban (business area dumpsters) and mixed environment (business located near agriculture) using next-generation sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. The taxonomic types and specific species of bacteria associated with flies differed in flies collected from different sites but very little variation occurred among flies collected from the same site. We found potential human pathogenic bacteria associated with flies from the mixed environment and feces-associated bacteria in flies from both the agricultural and urban environment. Our results show that the house fly gut harbors complex bacterial communities, including potential human and animal pathogens, and that community composition is strongly influenced by the habitat within which the flies are located.

Technical Abstract: Adult house flies feed and breed in wide range of microbe–rich habitats and serve as vectors for bacteria including human and animal pathogens. Evaluating the bacterial communities within wild-caught flies and assessing the influence of habitat on community composition are essential in understanding the role of house flies in harboring and disseminating bacteria. In this study, we characterized the bacterial communities in the gut of female house flies collected from three different environments in Kansas: agricultural (beef cattle feedlot), urban (business area dumpsters) and mixed environment (business located near agriculture) using next-generation sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA gene. The gut bacterial community compositions were significantly distinct in the house flies collected from different environments but similar among house flies collected from the same environment. Bacterial species richness and Shannon diversity index were higher in the agricultural environment and significantly different from mixed and urban environments. Interestingly, phylum Firmicutes dominated the agricultural environment while Proteobacteria dominated both urban and mixed environments. Furthermore, in lower taxonomic levels, bacterial genera associated with feces or vertebrate gut (rumen-associated microbes such as Blautia, Phascolarctobacterium, Anaerovibrio, unclassified Clostridiales, unclassified Ruminococcaceae, Escherichia-Shigella) dominated the agricultural environment. Importantly, potential human pathogens including Providencia and Aeromonas were dominant in the mixed environment where as unclassified Enterobacteriaceae, Providencia, Enterococcus and Phascolarctobacterium were dominant in urban environment. Our results show that the house fly gut harbors complex bacterial communities, including potential human and animal pathogens, and community composition is strongly influenced by the habitat in which the flies are located.