Data from: Wolbachia impacts microbiome diversity and fitness-associated traits for Drosophila melanogaster in a seasonally fluctuating environment

The microbiome contributes to many different host traits, but its role in
host adaptation remains enigmatic. The fitness benefits of the microbiome
often depend on ecological conditions, but theory suggests that
fluctuations in both the microbiome and environment modulate these fitness
benefits. Moreover, vertically transmitted bacteria might constrain the
ability of both the microbiome and host to respond to changing
environments. Drosophila melanogaster provides an excellent system to
investigate the impacts of interactions between the microbiome and the
environment. To address this question, we created field mesocosms of D.
melanogaster undergoing seasonal environmental change with and without the
vertically transmitted bacteria, Wolbachia pipientis. Sampling temporal
patterns in the microbiome revealed that Wolbachia constrained microbial
diversity. Furthermore, Wolbachia and a dominant member of the microbiome,
Commensalibacter, were associated with differences in two higher-order
fitness traits, starvation resistance and lifespan. Our work here suggests
that the interplay between the abiotic context and microbe-microbe
interactions may shape key host phenotypes that underlie adaptation to
changing environments. We conclude by exploring the consequences of
complex interactions between Wolbachia and the microbiome for our
understanding of eco-evolutionary processes that shape host-microbiome
interactions.