Research Paper Volume 11, Issue 13 pp 4611—4640

Figure 5. Increased microbial abundance shortens fly lifespan regardless of microbe composition. (A) Change in mean lifespan of Ax flies inoculated with single species of the dominant microbes at 10³, 10⁸, or 10¹⁴ CFUs. Asterisks indicate significant differences compared to Ax flies. (B) Mean lifespan of flies inoculated with combinations of four dominant microbes at 10⁸ or 10¹⁴ CFUs. Asterisk indicates significant differences between 10⁸ CFUs and 10¹⁴ CFUs (Spearman’s correlation, rho = −0.79, p < 0.0001) (C) The mean lifespan of Ax flies inoculated with combinations of four dominant species. Asterisks indicate significant differences compared to Ax flies; all groups with 10¹⁴ CFUs are significantly reduced compared to Ax flies (log-rank test, *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.0001). (D) The CFUs of Ax flies inoculated with combinations of four dominant microbe species. (E) Mean lifespan of Ax flies inoculated with combinations of four dominant species as functions of the abundance of the colonized microbe. Abundance of microbes and mean lifespan of flies were negatively correlated (Spearman’s correlation, rho = −0.57, p < 0.05). Error bars represent the SEM.