The influence of developmental diet on reproduction and metabolism in Drosophila
Abstract Background The adaptive significance of phenotypic changes elicited by environmental conditions experienced early in life has long attracted attention in evolutionary biology. In this study, we used Drosophila melanogaster to test whether the developmental diet produces phenotypes better ad...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2020-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Evolutionary Biology |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12862-020-01663-y |
| _version_ | 1818732818152292352 |
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| author | Peter Klepsatel Diana Knoblochová Thirnahalli Nagaraj Girish Heinrich Dircksen Martina Gáliková |
| author_facet | Peter Klepsatel Diana Knoblochová Thirnahalli Nagaraj Girish Heinrich Dircksen Martina Gáliková |
| author_sort | Peter Klepsatel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The adaptive significance of phenotypic changes elicited by environmental conditions experienced early in life has long attracted attention in evolutionary biology. In this study, we used Drosophila melanogaster to test whether the developmental diet produces phenotypes better adapted to cope with similar nutritional conditions later in life. To discriminate among competing hypotheses on the underlying nature of developmental plasticity, we employed a full factorial design with several developmental and adult diets. Specifically, we examined the effects of early- and late-life diets (by varying their yeast and sugar contents) on reproductive fitness and on the amount of energy reserves (fat and glycogen) in two wild-caught populations. Results We found that individuals that had developed on either low-yeast or high-sugar diet showed decreased reproductive performance regardless of their adult nutritional environment. The lower reproductive fitness might be caused by smaller body size and reduced ovariole number. Overall, these results are consistent with the silver spoon concept, which posits that development in a suboptimal environment negatively affects fitness-associated traits. On the other hand, the higher amount of energy reserves (fat) in individuals that had developed in a suboptimal environment might represent either an adaptive response or a side-effect of compensatory feeding. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the observed differences in the adult physiology induced by early-life diet likely result from inevitable and general effects of nutrition on the development of reproductive and metabolic organs, rather than from adaptive mechanisms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T23:39:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8cb9f1dbd5784b1187ba8b21d0b7b877 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2148 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T23:39:37Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Evolutionary Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-8cb9f1dbd5784b1187ba8b21d0b7b8772022-12-21T21:28:28ZengBMCBMC Evolutionary Biology1471-21482020-07-0120111510.1186/s12862-020-01663-yThe influence of developmental diet on reproduction and metabolism in DrosophilaPeter Klepsatel0Diana Knoblochová1Thirnahalli Nagaraj Girish2Heinrich Dircksen3Martina Gáliková4Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of SciencesInstitute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of SciencesDepartment of Biosciences, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher LearningDepartment of Zoology, Stockholm UniversityInstitute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of SciencesAbstract Background The adaptive significance of phenotypic changes elicited by environmental conditions experienced early in life has long attracted attention in evolutionary biology. In this study, we used Drosophila melanogaster to test whether the developmental diet produces phenotypes better adapted to cope with similar nutritional conditions later in life. To discriminate among competing hypotheses on the underlying nature of developmental plasticity, we employed a full factorial design with several developmental and adult diets. Specifically, we examined the effects of early- and late-life diets (by varying their yeast and sugar contents) on reproductive fitness and on the amount of energy reserves (fat and glycogen) in two wild-caught populations. Results We found that individuals that had developed on either low-yeast or high-sugar diet showed decreased reproductive performance regardless of their adult nutritional environment. The lower reproductive fitness might be caused by smaller body size and reduced ovariole number. Overall, these results are consistent with the silver spoon concept, which posits that development in a suboptimal environment negatively affects fitness-associated traits. On the other hand, the higher amount of energy reserves (fat) in individuals that had developed in a suboptimal environment might represent either an adaptive response or a side-effect of compensatory feeding. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the observed differences in the adult physiology induced by early-life diet likely result from inevitable and general effects of nutrition on the development of reproductive and metabolic organs, rather than from adaptive mechanisms.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12862-020-01663-yNutritionDevelopmental plasticityEnvironmental matchingFecundityFatGlycogen |
| spellingShingle | Peter Klepsatel Diana Knoblochová Thirnahalli Nagaraj Girish Heinrich Dircksen Martina Gáliková The influence of developmental diet on reproduction and metabolism in Drosophila BMC Evolutionary Biology Nutrition Developmental plasticity Environmental matching Fecundity Fat Glycogen |
| title | The influence of developmental diet on reproduction and metabolism in Drosophila |
| title_full | The influence of developmental diet on reproduction and metabolism in Drosophila |
| title_fullStr | The influence of developmental diet on reproduction and metabolism in Drosophila |
| title_full_unstemmed | The influence of developmental diet on reproduction and metabolism in Drosophila |
| title_short | The influence of developmental diet on reproduction and metabolism in Drosophila |
| title_sort | influence of developmental diet on reproduction and metabolism in drosophila |
| topic | Nutrition Developmental plasticity Environmental matching Fecundity Fat Glycogen |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12862-020-01663-y |
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