Bacteria associated with the Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens and their role in the female choice

Throughout their evolutionary history insects have formed multiple relationships with bacteria that may be found as endosymbionts or enteric bacteria and have evolved different ways of transmission.

Inside the insect, these microorganisms find protection and a nutrient-rich environment, while the bacterial may confer new traits to the insect, like nitrogen fixation, synthesis of essential amino acids and vitamins, enzymatic degradation of cellulose and uric acid and protection against parasites. All of these traits can increase the insect fitness.

The Mexican fruit fly Anastrepha ludens, belongs to the Tephritidae family and is an important agricultural pest in Mexico. The damage is caused by the fly stems from female oviposition in fruits, within which the larvae develop. Although there are different studies on the microbiota associated with some species of the Tephitidae there are few on A. ludens.

The aim of this work was to identify and characterize some metabolic capabilities of bacteria associated to different stages of laboratory and wild flies using a culture-dependent approach. Additionally we tested if the presence of bacteria in the male could affect the female choice for reproduction.

We found species belonging to the Enterobacteriace, Pseudomonadacea and Bacillaceae families in different stages of the fly. Some of them were capable to metabolize uric acid and pectin and we also detected the presence of uric acid in the alimentary tract of flies. We suppose that bacteria may help their host in uric acid catabolism.