FIG. 3.

Tsetse fly reconstitution with recSodalis and the effect of antibiotic treatment on symbiont flora. (A) Female tsetse flies transinfected with recSodalis and subsequently fed antibiotics. PCR revealed the presence of the eGFP gene in all mothers, thus indicating that the Sodalis bacteria were able to establish and maintain infections regardless of which tsetse fly species they were originally isolated from. Offspring from these mothers contained Sodalis, as evidenced by the presence of the chitinase gene (however, the eGFP gene was undetectable in these samples). (B) Control female flies receiving no recSodalis. In this population, WT Sodalis bacteria were eliminated by day 60 from females fed antibiotics (A). Furthermore, no Sodalis bacteria were present in the offspring of these flies. In contrast, all females (and their offspring) that were fed regular blood (N) retained Sodalis. The data were generated from one individual of each group. However, initially three individuals were randomly selected for PCR analysis, and all tested positive. F, fuscipes; M, morsitans. GFP, eGFP gene; chit, Sodalis exochitinase gene.