Sex-Specific Differences in Essential Lipid Requirements of Daphnia magna

Sex-specific differences in nutritional requirements may crucially influence the performances of the sexes, which may have implications for sexual reproduction and thus is of great ecological and evolutionary interest. In the freshwater model species Daphnia magna, essential lipid requirements have...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dominik Martin-Creuzburg, Tamara Massier, Alexander Wacker
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2018.00089/full
_version_ 1818571890529140736
author Dominik Martin-Creuzburg
Tamara Massier
Alexander Wacker
author_facet Dominik Martin-Creuzburg
Tamara Massier
Alexander Wacker
author_sort Dominik Martin-Creuzburg
collection DOAJ
description Sex-specific differences in nutritional requirements may crucially influence the performances of the sexes, which may have implications for sexual reproduction and thus is of great ecological and evolutionary interest. In the freshwater model species Daphnia magna, essential lipid requirements have been extensively studied. Dietary deficiencies in sterols and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have been shown to constrain somatic growth and parthenogenetic reproduction of female Daphnia. In contrast, nutrient requirements of male Daphnia have not been studied yet. Supplementation experiments were conducted to investigate differences in sterol (cholesterol) and PUFA (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA) requirements between female and male D. magna. Thresholds for sterol-limited juvenile growth were higher in females than in males, suggesting that females are more susceptible to dietary sterol deficiencies than males. Sex-specific differences in maximum somatic growth rates were evident primarily in the presence of dietary EPA; females could not exploit their generally higher growth potential in the absence of dietary PUFA. However, the thresholds for EPA-limited growth did not differ between sexes, suggesting that both sexes have similar dietary EPA requirements during juvenile growth. During a life history experiment, the gain in body dry mass was higher in females than in males, irrespective of food treatment. In both sexes, the gain in body dry mass increased significantly upon EPA supplementation, indicating that both sexes benefited from dietary EPA supply also later in life. However, the positive effects of EPA supplementation were most pronounced for female reproduction-related traits (i.e., clutch sizes, egg dry masses, and total dry mass investment in reproduction). The high maternal investment in reproduction resulted in a depletion of nutrients in female somata. In contrast, the comparatively low paternal investment in reproduction allowed for the accumulation of nutrients in male somata. We conclude that males are generally less susceptible to dietary nutrient deficiencies than females, because they can rely more on internal body stores. Our data suggest that the performances of the sexes are differentially influenced by lipid-mediated food quality, which may have consequences for sexual reproduction and thus the production of resting eggs and the maintenance of Daphnia populations.
first_indexed 2024-12-14T18:50:14Z
format Article
id doaj.art-9c442a5bcef84569a2995758e5699b89
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2296-701X
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-14T18:50:14Z
publishDate 2018-06-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
spelling doaj.art-9c442a5bcef84569a2995758e5699b892022-12-21T22:51:16ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2018-06-01610.3389/fevo.2018.00089366904Sex-Specific Differences in Essential Lipid Requirements of Daphnia magnaDominik Martin-Creuzburg0Tamara Massier1Alexander Wacker2Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, GermanyLimnological Institute, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, GermanyTheoretical Aquatic Ecology and Ecophysiology, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, GermanySex-specific differences in nutritional requirements may crucially influence the performances of the sexes, which may have implications for sexual reproduction and thus is of great ecological and evolutionary interest. In the freshwater model species Daphnia magna, essential lipid requirements have been extensively studied. Dietary deficiencies in sterols and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have been shown to constrain somatic growth and parthenogenetic reproduction of female Daphnia. In contrast, nutrient requirements of male Daphnia have not been studied yet. Supplementation experiments were conducted to investigate differences in sterol (cholesterol) and PUFA (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA) requirements between female and male D. magna. Thresholds for sterol-limited juvenile growth were higher in females than in males, suggesting that females are more susceptible to dietary sterol deficiencies than males. Sex-specific differences in maximum somatic growth rates were evident primarily in the presence of dietary EPA; females could not exploit their generally higher growth potential in the absence of dietary PUFA. However, the thresholds for EPA-limited growth did not differ between sexes, suggesting that both sexes have similar dietary EPA requirements during juvenile growth. During a life history experiment, the gain in body dry mass was higher in females than in males, irrespective of food treatment. In both sexes, the gain in body dry mass increased significantly upon EPA supplementation, indicating that both sexes benefited from dietary EPA supply also later in life. However, the positive effects of EPA supplementation were most pronounced for female reproduction-related traits (i.e., clutch sizes, egg dry masses, and total dry mass investment in reproduction). The high maternal investment in reproduction resulted in a depletion of nutrients in female somata. In contrast, the comparatively low paternal investment in reproduction allowed for the accumulation of nutrients in male somata. We conclude that males are generally less susceptible to dietary nutrient deficiencies than females, because they can rely more on internal body stores. Our data suggest that the performances of the sexes are differentially influenced by lipid-mediated food quality, which may have consequences for sexual reproduction and thus the production of resting eggs and the maintenance of Daphnia populations.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2018.00089/fullallocationcholesteroleicosapentaenoic acidfood qualitymale Daphniapolyunsaturated fatty acids
spellingShingle Dominik Martin-Creuzburg
Tamara Massier
Alexander Wacker
Sex-Specific Differences in Essential Lipid Requirements of Daphnia magna
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
allocation
cholesterol
eicosapentaenoic acid
food quality
male Daphnia
polyunsaturated fatty acids
title Sex-Specific Differences in Essential Lipid Requirements of Daphnia magna
title_full Sex-Specific Differences in Essential Lipid Requirements of Daphnia magna
title_fullStr Sex-Specific Differences in Essential Lipid Requirements of Daphnia magna
title_full_unstemmed Sex-Specific Differences in Essential Lipid Requirements of Daphnia magna
title_short Sex-Specific Differences in Essential Lipid Requirements of Daphnia magna
title_sort sex specific differences in essential lipid requirements of daphnia magna
topic allocation
cholesterol
eicosapentaenoic acid
food quality
male Daphnia
polyunsaturated fatty acids
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2018.00089/full
work_keys_str_mv AT dominikmartincreuzburg sexspecificdifferencesinessentiallipidrequirementsofdaphniamagna
AT tamaramassier sexspecificdifferencesinessentiallipidrequirementsofdaphniamagna
AT alexanderwacker sexspecificdifferencesinessentiallipidrequirementsofdaphniamagna