TY - GEN A1 - Sieksmeyer, Thorben T1 - Beyond nutrition: host-microbiota interactions drive shifts in the behavioural phenotypes of cockroaches N2 - Recent studies have shown that host-microbiota interactions can lead to dramatic changes in host phenotype. We investigate the causal drivers of microbe-associated shifts in host phenotype by examining how feeding behaviour is modulated by microbiota interactions in two omnivorous cockroaches: Blatta orientalis and Blatella germanica. We conducted food-choice experiments after challenging hosts with a common entomopathogenic soil bacterium to understand the impact of pathogens on host macronutrient preference. We find that immune challenge by a pathogenic microbe drives a sharp decline in carbohydrate intake and results in a relative increase in the ratio of protein to carbohydrate (P:C) consumed. Additionally, infected cockroaches reduce their overall nutrient intake, which is consistent with an illness-induced anorexia-like response. We show for the first time that cockroach feeding behaviour is dynamically modulated by a pathogen, and examine the influence of modified feeding behaviour on host immunity. We also investigate whether in addition to pathogens, gut commensals are causally responsible for shifts in host behavioural phenotype. Here, we conduct food-choice and immune-challenge experiments in germ-free cockroaches, which have been refaunated with gut microbiota that are experimentally adapted to variable macronutrient (P:C) diets. T2 - The 2017 Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology CY - Groningen, Netherlands DA - 20.08.2017 KW - Nutrition KW - Bacterial infection KW - Cockroach KW - Gut microbiota PY - 2017 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-bam/frontdoor/index/index/docId/44245 AN - OPUS4-44245 AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany