Can insecticide resistance alter behaviour and fitness by modifying the gut microbiome?. DDT resistance and gut microbiota

Resistance to a range of insecticides is conferred by upregulation of the cytrochrome P450 gene Cyp6g1 in Drosophila melanogaster, and has been associated with sex-specific pleiotropic effects on behaviour and fitness. Cyp6g1 is primarily overexpressed in the gut in insecticide resistant individuals and metabolises a large range of molecules, and thus upregulation may alter the gut environment and the community composition of the gut microbiota. The community composition of gut microbiota can have profound effects on behaviour and fitness, and if Cyp6g1 expression can explain differences in gut microbiota then it may help explain its observed fitness effects. Comparing microbial community composition between the guts of insecticide resistant and susceptible individuals (high and low Cyp6g1 expression, respectively) via 16s rRNA sequencing would be the first necessary experiment to demonstrate that insecticide resistance can alter behaviour and fitness by modifying the gut microbiome.