Microbes Prevent Malnutrition in Fruit Flies-and Maybe Humans, Too JUPITER, FL February 12, 2015 Microbes, small and ancient life forms, play a key role in maintaining life on Earth. As has often been pointed out, without microbes, we'd die without us, most microbes would get along just fine.
Now, a study by scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) sheds significant new light on a surprising and critical role that microbes may play in nutritional disorders such as protein malnutrition.
Using fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster as a simple and easily studied stand-in for humans, these new findings advance our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying microbial contributions to metabolism and may point to long-term strategies to treat and prevent malnutrition in general.
In the study, published February 12 in the journal Cell Reports, a team led by TSRI biologist William Ja showed that Issatchenkia orientalis, a fungal microbe isolated from field-caught fruit flies, promotes nutritional harvest that rescues the health and longevity of undernourished flies.
Surprising Protein Harvest
Using a range of radioisotope-labeled dietary components such as amino acids (the components of proteins and the basic building blocks of the body) and sucrose (sugar) to measure the transfer of nutrients from food to microbe to fly, the study shows that the microbes first harvest amino acids directly from the fly's food sources and then transfer that protein to the fly by being eaten.
Flies in the wild carry microbes to every surface they touch, said Research Associate Ryuichi Yamada, who spearheaded the study in the Ja lab. As flies land on low-protein fruit, they deposit microbes, which take up and concentrate the available amino acids. By eating the microbes, flies gain a much needed source of dietary protein.
In flies that are fed nutrient-poor diets, this chain of events restores body mass and protein levels, essentially returning them to the pre-malnutrition profile of well-fed flies.
Ryuichi and colleagues did a lot of painstaking work to carefully show that the simplest explanation for what was happening was correct, Ja said. The direct influence of microbes on fly nutrition is often overlooked and may be relevant in numerous studies of host-microbe interactions.
Natural Symbiosis
This relationship appears to be particularly beneficial for flies. Devouring the protein-plumped microbes extends fly lifespan during periods when nutrients are scarce. In fact, the I. orientalis microbe is commonly found in field-trapped fruit flies, said Yamada. That suggests a natural symbiosis.
Ja believes the study also offers a larger lesson on the partnership that can occur between microorganisms and their hosts, in addition to providing information on nutrient harvesting and the potential of Drosophila as a platform for studies of host-microbe relationships.
While everyone keeps looking for that single magic microbial metabolite or species, what has been increasingly ignored is the bulk effect that microbes have on primary metabolism, he said. Our study suggests that diverse [microbial] species could each benefit their hosts and that their quantity, rather than quality, may be of fundamental importance.
In addition to Ja and Yamada, other authors of the study, Microbes Promote Amino Acid Harvest to Rescue Undernutrition in Drosophila, are Sonali A. Deshpande, Kimberley D. Bruce and Elizabeth M. Mak of TSRI. For more information, see http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/home
The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants R00AG030493 and R21DK092735), The Ellison Medical Foundation and the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research.
About The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is one of the worlds largest independent, not-for-profit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. TSRI is internationally recognized for its contributions to science and health, including its role in laying the foundation for new treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, and other diseases. An institution that evolved from the Scripps Metabolic Clinic founded by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in 1924, the institute now employs about 2,700 people on its campuses in La Jolla, CA, and Jupiter, FL, where its renowned scientists including two Nobel laureates work toward their next discoveries. The institutes graduate program, which awards PhD degrees in biology and chemistry, ranks among the top ten of its kind in the nation. For more information, see www.scripps.edu.
# # #
For information:
Office of Communications
Tel: 858-784-2666
Fax: 858-784-8136
press@scripps.edu
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
Latino Film Institute Fellows Screen Their Short Films at the Egyptian Theatre
The Inclusion Fellowship and Spark Animation Grant uplifts 15 ...
29/05/2026
GLOOKAST LAUNCHES CINNAFILM TACHYON PLUGIN FOR MEDIA PRODUCER AND MEDIA SERVICES
This release first appeared here.
Visit our Tachyon product page or contact...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
Microbes Prevent Malnutrition in Fruit Flies-and Maybe Humans, Too JUPITER, FL February 12, 2015 Microbes, small and ancient life forms, play a key role in maintaining life on Earth. As has often been pointed out, without microbes, we'd die without us, most microbes would get along just fine.
