Learning to fly, with microbes
It's summer and that means time for research and reading groups here at IU Bloomington. Given the interest in Drosophila across the department, I thought it might be fun to start a fly microbiome reading group this summer. We've got a really dynamic and diverse group -- everyone from stock center folks to genomics gurus and graduate students working in flies. If you're already working in the fly, and haven't thought about the effect of the microbial community - shame on you!; seriously, have you had your head in a hole for the last decade? Beyond ignoring Wolbachia infection and effects on host phenotypes (such as i nsulin signaling , oogenesis , and others), ignoring the entire microbial community is really not defendable any more. If you haven't been interested in the fly microbiome, because it's depauperate (what a nasty word, aye?) and generally inconstant, I hope to change your mind. Here are some of the papers we've been reading lately: ...