Bacterial-driven odorant receptor expression shifts alter olfactory behavior in the oriental fruit fly

Published Nov 10, 2025 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.jdfn2z3qh

Data files

Nov 10, 2025 version files 77.40 KB

Data_for_publication.xlsx

72 KB
README.md

5.39 KB

Abstract

This work reveals a previously unknown mechanism by which gut microbiota modulate insect sensory ecology, demonstrating that Enterobacter sp. MU-1, a gut symbiont of the invasive pest Bactrocera dorsalis, reprograms host olfactory behavior through specific suppression of odorant receptor OR67c. Our integrated approach combining behavioral assays, transcriptomics, and functional validation establishes a novel paradigm of tripartite interplay between gut microbiota, chemoreceptor tuning, and behavioral adaptation. Key findings include: MU-1 colonization converts avoidance behavior to attraction in axenic flies (P < 0.01, Figure 1), while RNAi-mediated knockdown of OR67c reverses this behavioral shift (55% gene downregulation, P < 0.05, Figure 4). Temporal qPCR analysis confirms that MU-1 specifically suppresses OR67c expression (FPKM > 2-fold change in antibiotic-treated vs. recolonized flies, Figure 3), with no equivalent effects on other olfactory receptors. This microbiota-chemosensory axis represents a significant advance in understanding how symbiotic bacteria fine-tune insect behavioral plasticity—a phenomenon with critical implications for developing novel management strategies against this globally invasive species.

Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.jdfn2z3qh

Description of the data and file structure

We have submitted all the raw data used for plotting. All the content mentioned is included in one Excel file. Each sheet in the file corresponds to the data used for each figure in the original article.

Files and variables

File: Data_for_publication.xlsx

Description: Data for Figure 1A:Y-tube olfactory behavior of B. dorsalis. The numbers in the table represent the number of insects that made the corresponding choices.

Data for Figure 1B:Behavioral analysis in a T-shaped tube.The numbers in the table indicate the quantity of insects that made the corresponding choices, and the calculation of the selection index is also included in the table.

Data for Figure 2:The data on larval body length and weight. The numbers in the second row represent the initial concentrations of the bacterial suspension, in units of CFU/mL.

Data for Figure 3A:Data on the corresponding odorant receptors screened from transcriptome sequencing data. The values used for plotting are the FPKM values of the genes.

Data for Figure 3B:The numbers in the table are the raw data used for plotting.

Data for Figure 4:Behavioral analysis in a T-shaped tube.The numbers in the table indicate the quantity of insects that made the corresponding choices, and the calculation of the selection index is also included in the table.

Data for Figure S1:The phylogenetic tree was generated using MEGA software, with the nucleotide sequences used provided in the table, and the other sequences available in the NCBI database.

Data for Figure S2:The data in the table represent the bacterial concentration, expressed in colony-forming units per larva.

Data for Figure S3:The data in the table represent the proportion of B. dorsalis. that selected the corresponding odor source.

Data for Figure S4:The data in the table represent the bacterial concentration, with the unit being CFU/mL.

Data for Figure S5:The data in the table comprise the complete set of differentially expressed genes required for generating the volcano plot.The plot was generated via the cloud platform : https://magic-plus.novogene.com/#/.

Data for Figure S6:The data in the table represent the relative expression level of OR67c.

Variables

Figure 1A: Behavioral analysis in a Y tube:Experiment name. source 1:The number of insects entering this arm of the Y-tube (individuals). The second row describes the odor used in this arm. source 2:The number of insects entering this arm of the Y-tube (individuals). The second row describes the odor used in this arm.
Figure 1B: Behavioral analysis in a T-shaped tube:Experiment name.
Figure 2: larval body length (cm)：Data from measurements of larval body length (cm). larval weight (mg): Data from measurements of larval body weight (mg).
Figure 3A: gene_id:The gene's identification number on NCBI. AT1_count to CR3_count:The count of reads that are aligned to a gene provides a direct, unnormalized estimate of the gene's expression level.The alphanumeric codes (e.g., AT1,CR1) represent different experimental groups. AT1_fpkm to CR3_fpkm:Fragments Per Kilobase of transcript per Million mapped fragments.The alphanumeric codes (e.g., AT1,CR1) represent different experimental groups.
Figure 3B: OR83a,OR67d-like,OR67c: gene name. CR,AT,CR+3d,RC:CR:conventional-reared ;AT:antibiotic-treated ;CR+3d:continuously feed CR group for an additional 3 days ;RC:MU-1 recolonization.
Figure 4:Behavioral analysis in a T-shaped tube:Experiment name.
Figure S1: **sequence: **Base sequence.
Figure S2: Control,Anti: Group name.
Figure S3: Control,Anti: Group name.
Figure S4: Control,Anti,MU-1 recolonized:Group name.
Figure S5: gene_id:The gene's identification number on NCBI. CR1 to AT3:The alphanumeric codes (e.g., AT1,CR1) represent different experimental groups.The numbers represent FPKM values. log2FoldChange:It is used to measure the degree of difference in a gene's expression level between two conditions (e.g., CR vs. AT).pvalue:It is used to evaluate whether the observed difference in expression levels (i.e., the log2FoldChange) is statistically significant, rather than a chance result caused by random sampling error.gene_biotype: "gene_biotype" is a crucial field in genome annotation that describes the biological type of a gene or its transcript products.gene_description:The gene_description field typically contains knowledge compiled from existing scientific literature and databases, describing the known or predicted function of a gene.
Figure S6: No-injection,dsGFP-24h,dsOR67c-24h: Experimental group name.

Code/software

MEGA12: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis version 12 for adaptive and green computing

Kumar S, Stecher G, Suleski M, Sanderford M, Sharma S, and Tamura K (2024)
Molecular Biology and Evolution 41:1-9

https://magic-plus.novogene.com/#/

Access information

Other publicly accessible locations of the data:

NCBI database under accession number PRJNA1329347.