Robust manipulation of the behavior of <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> by a fungal pathogen in the laboratory.

Abstract

Many microbes induce striking behavioral changes in their animal hosts, but how they achieve this is poorly understood, especially at the molecular level. Mechanistic understanding has been largely constrained by the lack of an experimental system amenable to molecular manipulation. We recently discovered a strain of the behavior-manipulating fungal pathogen <i>Entomophthora muscae</i> infecting wild <i>Drosophila</i>, and established methods to infect <i>D. melanogaster</i> in the lab. Lab-infected flies manifest the moribund behaviors characteristic of <i>E. muscae</i> infection: hours before death, they climb upward, extend their proboscides, affixing in place, then raise their wings, clearing a path for infectious spores to launch from their abdomens. We found that <i>E. muscae</i> invades the nervous system, suggesting a direct means by which the fungus could induce behavioral changes. Given the vast molecular toolkit available for <i>D. melanogaster</i>, we believe this new system will enable rapid progress in understanding how <i>E. muscae</i> manipulates host behavior.