Microbes, the tiny organisms that live on and inside us, are known to play a role in our health.
But now, scientists from Japan and the US have found that the microbes living in fruit flies can actually help them reproduce better.
Let's find out more about it!
A new discovery
In a recent study, the researchers discovered that the microbes in the fruit fly's microbiome are involved in controlling the formation and maturation of eggs in female fruit flies.
Microbiome is a group of tiny organisms that live inside and on a living thing. It helps with important tasks like digestion, getting nutrients, and making babies.
We know that when there's not enough food, these tiny organisms can affect how well animals can make babies. But we don't know exactly how they do it yet.
The researchers propose that the microbes modify hormone levels and pathways, which in turn promote better fertility in fruit flies when they have limited access to nutrients.
Through genetic analysis of fruit flies, the team discovered that the microbes accelerate the division of ovarian cells, prevent cell death, and improve the production of germline stem cells, which eventually leads to more mature eggs in female fruit flies.
The specialists found that the microbes activate hormonal pathways involved in the development of eggs, such as the ecdysone and juvenile hormone pathways.
The findings suggest that environmental microbes can improve the reproduction of their hosts by controlling hormone release and increasing the formation of eggs.
Why it's important
Understanding how microbes boost reproductive processes could have implications for improving human fertility and infertility treatments.
This research opens up new possibilities for developing treatments involving probiotics, which are beneficial microbes that could potentially enhance reproductive health.
Previously, we talked about the jellyfish magic.
