AUTHOR=Nayani Saif A. , Meraj Sanam , Mohr Emerson , Gries Regine , Kovacs Emma , Devireddy Anand , Gries Gerhard 

TITLE=Staphylococcus microbes in the bovine skin microbiome attract blood-feeding stable flies

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1212222

DOI=10.3389/fevo.2023.1212222

ISSN=2296-701X

ABSTRACT=<p>The human skin microbiome reportedly contributes to the attraction of mosquitoes to human hosts. We tested the hypothesis that bovine skin microbes affect the attraction of blood-feeding stable flies, <italic>Stomoxys calcitrans</italic>, to their bovine hosts. Microbes were collected from a calf and adult cow, and subsequently isolated and identified by mass spectrometry and genetic sequencing. Separate groups of (<italic>i</italic>) four <italic>Staphylococcus</italic> congeners (<italic>S. chromogenes</italic>, <italic>S. sciuri</italic>, <italic>S. simulans, S. succinus</italic>) and (<italic>ii</italic>) three bacterial heterogeners (<italic>Glutamicibacter protophormiae</italic>, <italic>Corynebacterium stationis</italic>, <italic>Wautersiella</italic> sp.) grown on agar, each attracted flies in still-air olfactometers, as did each <italic>Staphylococcus</italic> congener singly. The four <italic>Staphylococcus</italic> microbes also attracted flies in room bioassays. In greenhouse bioassays with paired black barrels as visual (surrogate host) stimuli, the treatment barrel baited with <italic>S. sciuri</italic> on agar induced significantly more fly alighting responses than the control barrel with sterile agar. This treatment effect could not be demonstrated on a cattle farm, possibly because of chemically and visually complex surroundings. Ammonia emitted by <italic>Staphylococcus</italic> microbes attracted flies, and a synthetic blend of microbe odorants enhanced the attractiveness of ammonia. Optimal attraction of stable flies to bovine microbes likely requires the integration of multimodal host cues.</p>