Experimental Hologenomic Evolution: Heritable effects of acute-pesticide poisoning on the microbiome and adaptation across host generations

Using an experimental evolution approach, we exposed successive generations of Nasonia vitripennis to sub-toxic levels of the herbicide Atrazine and monitored changes in the structure and function of the microbiome. We determined that both acute and long-term exposure directly impacted the microbiome community, and in turn host physiology. Continuous low-dose exposure to the herbicide resulted in microbial community changes that allowed the exposed population to survive under higher dosages of Atrazine than the control population. This tolerance was directly linked to the gut microbiome shift. By comparing microbiomes as well as host population genetics over successive generations, we observed a stable and heritable adaptation of the microbiome in response to Atrazine exposure that drove population differences at a genome wide level. To our knowledge, this work marks the first observation of transgenerational exposure risk affecting the microbiome.