ArticlePLoS biology2017
Commensal bacteria and essential amino acids control food choice behavior and reproduction.
Article in PLoS biology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 158 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
158 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 330 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Roles of the gut microbiome in weight management.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2023Pooled it
- Dysregulated eating behaviour and microbiota-based interventions targeting eating disorders and food addiction.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Short-chain fatty acid-producing commensals: Key modulators of AD neuroinflammation via the microbiota-gut-brain axis.Current research in microbial sciences · 2026Review
- A roadmap to key traits of invasive Drosophilidae.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2026Review
- Genome-scale metabolic modelling identifies vaginal microbiome members as potential probiotics.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- Microbe-dependent inter-organ communication regulates germline stem cell proliferation inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Lysine Triggers Acute Oviposition by Activating the 20E-ETH-JH Signaling Cascade inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Diversity of theMicrobiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Ovary-Derived Signals Align Protein Appetite with Oogenesis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Bacterial genome reconstruction and community profiling in Neotropical Drosophila.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Persistent effects of dietary selection and inbreeding on microbiome composition and longevity in Drosophila.BMC ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- The current consensus on ulcerative colitis, and the evidence and perspectives on the influence of gut microbiota on it.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Microbial metabolites as engines of behavioral variation across animals.Gut microbes · 2025Review
- Gut microbial metabolites link dietary history to appetite regulation.Journal of neurogenetics · 2025Article
- The Gut Microbiota ofMicroorganisms · 2025Review
- Environment and diet shape the geography-specificApplied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Connectomics Reveals a Feed-Forward Swallowing Circuit Driving Protein Appetite.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Microbiome drives age-dependent shifts in brain transcriptomic programs at the single-cell level in Drosophila.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2025Article
98 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Choosing the right nutrients to consume is essential to health and wellbeing across species. However, the factors that influence these decisions are poorly understood. This is particularly true for dietary proteins, which are important determinants of lifespan and reproduction. We show that in Drosophila melanogaster, essential amino acids (eAAs) and the concerted action of the commensal bacteria Acetobacter pomorum and Lactobacilli are critical modulators of food choice. Using a chemically defined diet, we show that the absence of any single eAA from the diet is sufficient to elicit specific appetites for amino acid (AA)-rich food. Furthermore, commensal bacteria buffer the animal from the lack of dietary eAAs: both increased yeast appetite and decreased reproduction induced by eAA deprivation are rescued by the presence of commensals. Surprisingly, these effects do not seem to be due to changes in AA titers, suggesting that gut bacteria act through a different mechanism to change behavior and reproduction. Thus, eAAs and commensal bacteria are potent modulators of feeding decisions and reproductive output. This demonstrates how the interaction of specific nutrients with the microbiome can shape behavioral decisions and life history traits.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.