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<p>It is common for a host exposed to a pathogenic infection to exhibit fecundity suppression. This suppression can be driven by either a resource-allocation trade-off between fecundity and immune function, or by infection-induced damage to the host soma (particularly the reproductive organs). Alternatively, hosts can increase their fecundity to compensate for the curtailed lifespan resulting from lethal infection. Various factors, both extrinsic and intrinsic to the host, determine the actual effect of any infection challenge on host fecundity. While the host’s physiological and abiotic environmental factors have been thoroughly explored in this context, the role of the host’s biotic environment – especially its social and sexual environment – has not been previously addressed. We investigated whether the socio-sexual environment (SSE) of <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> females influenced the effect of bacterial infection on their fecundity. We altered the socio-sexual environment of the focal females by housing them with different numbers of same-sex and opposite-sex companions. Our results indicate that such alterations of the SSE changed the baseline reproductive effort of the females; increasing the number of female companions decreased fecundity, while fecundity increased in the presence of male companions. Alterations in the SSE, however, did not contribute to female susceptibility to infections. Infection with the bacterium <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> led to suppression of fecundity in females. However, the effect of infection on the fecundity of focal females was comparable across all socio-sexual environments. We therefore conclude that although altered SSE alters the baseline reproductive output of <i>D. melanogaster</i> females, it neither influences mortality during the acute phase of infection nor the effects of infection on female fecundity during the same period (0–48&#xa0;h post-infection).</p>

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Socio-sexual environment influences fecundity, but not response to bacterial infection, in Drosophila melanogaster females

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月29日

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  • Suhaas Sehgal,
  • Aabeer Basu,
  • Nagaraj Guru Prasad

摘要

It is common for a host exposed to a pathogenic infection to exhibit fecundity suppression. This suppression can be driven by either a resource-allocation trade-off between fecundity and immune function, or by infection-induced damage to the host soma (particularly the reproductive organs). Alternatively, hosts can increase their fecundity to compensate for the curtailed lifespan resulting from lethal infection. Various factors, both extrinsic and intrinsic to the host, determine the actual effect of any infection challenge on host fecundity. While the host’s physiological and abiotic environmental factors have been thoroughly explored in this context, the role of the host’s biotic environment – especially its social and sexual environment – has not been previously addressed. We investigated whether the socio-sexual environment (SSE) of Drosophila melanogaster females influenced the effect of bacterial infection on their fecundity. We altered the socio-sexual environment of the focal females by housing them with different numbers of same-sex and opposite-sex companions. Our results indicate that such alterations of the SSE changed the baseline reproductive effort of the females; increasing the number of female companions decreased fecundity, while fecundity increased in the presence of male companions. Alterations in the SSE, however, did not contribute to female susceptibility to infections. Infection with the bacterium Enterococcus faecalis led to suppression of fecundity in females. However, the effect of infection on the fecundity of focal females was comparable across all socio-sexual environments. We therefore conclude that although altered SSE alters the baseline reproductive output of D. melanogaster females, it neither influences mortality during the acute phase of infection nor the effects of infection on female fecundity during the same period (0–48 h post-infection).