Wolbachia are endosymbiotic bacteria present in a wide range of insects. Although their dramatic effects on host reproductive biology have been well studied, the effects of Wolbachia on sleep behavior of insect hosts are not well documented. In this study, we report that Wolbachia infection caused an increase of total sleep time in both male and female Drosophila melanogaster. The increase in sleep was associated with an increase in the number of nighttime sleep bouts or episodes, but not in sleep bout duration. Correspondingly, Wolbachia infection also reduced the arousal threshold of their f...
