Microbiota reduce Drosophila triacylglyceride density by providing pantothenate

Gut microbiota are intimately associated with host metabolism. The relative roles of nutrient provision, nutrient liberation from food, and host metabolic reprogramming remain unclear; as are the functional contributions of different bacteria. Flies provide a useful model for understanding the fundamental biology of host-microbiome interactions, especially given their simple microbiota, dominated by Acetobacteraceae and Lactobacillaceae. Here we compare the metabolomic impacts of two exemplar species, Acetobacter pomorum and Levilactobacillus brevis, showing a more substantial impact of A. pomorum than L. brevis, and further that these metabolomic effects were not sexually dimorphic between males and females. In females, A. pomorum provides pantothenate (vitamin B5), and impairing either microbial pantothenate provision or host pantothenate metabolism abolishes microbial regulation of host triacylglyceride. These findings provide a novel mechanism by which microbiota impact fly metabolism.