Integrated genome-wide investigations of the housefly, a global vector of diseases reveal unique dispersal patterns and bacterial communities across farms

Background:Houseflies (Musca domesticaL.) live in intimate association with numerous microorganisms and is a vector of human pathogens. In temperate areas, houseflies willoverwinter in environments constructed by humans and recolonize surrounding areas in early summer. However, the dispersal patterns and associated bacteria across season and location are unclear.We used genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) for the simultaneous identification and genotyping of thousands of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) to establish dispersal patterns of houseflies across farms. Secondly, we used16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to establish the variation and association between bacterial communities and the housefly across farms. 

Results: Using GBS we identified 18,000 SNPs across 400 individualssampled within and between 11 dairy farms in Denmark. There was evidence for sub-structuring of Danish housefly populations and with genetic structure that differed across season and sex. Further, there wa...