A conserved genetic basis for commensal-host specificity through live imaging of colonization dynamics

Animals throughout the metazoa selectively acquire specific symbiotic gut bacteria from their environment that aid host fitness. Current models of colonization suggest these bacteria use weakly specific receptors to stick to host tissues and that colonization results when they stick in a region of the host gut that overlaps with their nutritional niche. An alternative model is that unique receptor-ligand binding interactions provide specificity for target niches. Here we use live imaging of individual symbiotic bacterial cells colonizing the gut of living Drosophila melanogaster to show that Lactiplantibacillus plantarum specifically recognizes a distinct physical niche in the host gut. We find that recognition is controlled by a colonization island that is widely conserved in commensals and pathogens from the Lactobacillales to the Clostridia. Our findings indicate a genetic mechanism of host specificity that is broadly conserved.