Abstract
Eukaryotic genomes encode several buffering mechanisms that robustly maintain invariant phenotypic outcome despite fluctuating environmental conditions. Here we show that the Drosophila gut-associated commensals, represented by a single facultative symbiont, Lactobacillus plantarum (Lp(WJL)), constitutes a so far unexpected buffer that masks the contribution of the host's cryptic genetic variation (CGV) to developmental traits while the host is under nutritional stress. During chronic under-nutrition, Lp(WJL) consistently reduces variation in different host phenotypic traits and ensures robust organ patterning during development; Lp(WJL) also decreases genotype-dependent expression variation, particularly for development-associated genes. We further provide evidence that Lp(WJL) buffers via reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling whose inhibition impairs microbiota-mediated phenotypic robustness. We thus identified a hitherto unappreciated contribution of the gut facultative symbionts to host fitness that, beyond supporting growth rates and maturation timing, confers developmental robustness and phenotypic homogeneity in times of nutritional stress.