Metabolic and immunological responses of Drosophila melanogaster to dietary restriction and bacterial infection differ substantially between genotypes in a population

Abstract To respond to changing environmental conditions, a population may either shift toward better‐adapted genotypes or adapt on an individual level. The present work aimed to quantify the relevance of these two processes by comparing the responses of defined Drosophila melanogaster populations t...

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Main Authors: Wesam S. Meshrif, Sandy H. Elkayal, Mohamed A. Soliman, Amal I. Seif, Thomas Roeder
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-05-01
Series:Ecology and Evolution
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8960
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author Wesam S. Meshrif
Sandy H. Elkayal
Mohamed A. Soliman
Amal I. Seif
Thomas Roeder
author_facet Wesam S. Meshrif
Sandy H. Elkayal
Mohamed A. Soliman
Amal I. Seif
Thomas Roeder
author_sort Wesam S. Meshrif
collection DOAJ
description Abstract To respond to changing environmental conditions, a population may either shift toward better‐adapted genotypes or adapt on an individual level. The present work aimed to quantify the relevance of these two processes by comparing the responses of defined Drosophila melanogaster populations to different stressors. To do this, we infected two homogeneous populations (isofemale lines), which differ significantly in fitness, and a synthetic heterogeneous population with a specific pathogen and/or exposed them to food restriction. Pectobacterium carotovorum was used to infect Drosophila larvae either fed standard or protein‐restricted diet. In particular, the two homogeneous groups, which diverged in their fitness, showed considerable differences in all parameters assessed (survivorship, protein and lipid contents, phenol‐oxidase (PO) activity, and antibacterial rate). Under fully nutritious conditions, larvae of the homogeneous population with low fitness exhibited lower survivorship and protein levels, as well as higher PO activity and antibacterial rate compared with the fitter population. A protein‐restricted diet and bacterial infection provoked a decrease in survivorship, and antibacterial rate in most populations. Bacterial infection elicited an opposite response in protein and lipid content in both isofemale lines tested. Interestingly, the heterogeneous population showed a complex response pattern. The response of the heterogeneous population followed the fit genotype in terms of survival and antibacterial activity but followed the unfit genotype in terms of PO activity. In conclusion, our results show that defined genotypes exhibit highly divergent responses to varying stressors that are difficult to predict. Furthermore, the responses of heterogeneous populations do not follow a fixed pattern showing a very high degree of plasticity and differences between different genotypes.
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spelling doaj.art-f3a927e88df34817902f9c6e5d8ddecc2022-12-22T01:01:09ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582022-05-01125n/an/a10.1002/ece3.8960Metabolic and immunological responses of Drosophila melanogaster to dietary restriction and bacterial infection differ substantially between genotypes in a populationWesam S. Meshrif0Sandy H. Elkayal1Mohamed A. Soliman2Amal I. Seif3Thomas Roeder4Department of Zoology Faculty of Science Tanta University Tanta EgyptFaculty of Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Services Center Tanta University Tanta EgyptDepartment of Zoology Faculty of Science Tanta University Tanta EgyptDepartment of Zoology Faculty of Science Tanta University Tanta EgyptDepartment of Molecular Physiology Zoological Institute Kiel University Kiel GermanyAbstract To respond to changing environmental conditions, a population may either shift toward better‐adapted genotypes or adapt on an individual level. The present work aimed to quantify the relevance of these two processes by comparing the responses of defined Drosophila melanogaster populations to different stressors. To do this, we infected two homogeneous populations (isofemale lines), which differ significantly in fitness, and a synthetic heterogeneous population with a specific pathogen and/or exposed them to food restriction. Pectobacterium carotovorum was used to infect Drosophila larvae either fed standard or protein‐restricted diet. In particular, the two homogeneous groups, which diverged in their fitness, showed considerable differences in all parameters assessed (survivorship, protein and lipid contents, phenol‐oxidase (PO) activity, and antibacterial rate). Under fully nutritious conditions, larvae of the homogeneous population with low fitness exhibited lower survivorship and protein levels, as well as higher PO activity and antibacterial rate compared with the fitter population. A protein‐restricted diet and bacterial infection provoked a decrease in survivorship, and antibacterial rate in most populations. Bacterial infection elicited an opposite response in protein and lipid content in both isofemale lines tested. Interestingly, the heterogeneous population showed a complex response pattern. The response of the heterogeneous population followed the fit genotype in terms of survival and antibacterial activity but followed the unfit genotype in terms of PO activity. In conclusion, our results show that defined genotypes exhibit highly divergent responses to varying stressors that are difficult to predict. Furthermore, the responses of heterogeneous populations do not follow a fixed pattern showing a very high degree of plasticity and differences between different genotypes.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8960diversityfruit flyinfectionrestricted diettrait plasticity
spellingShingle Wesam S. Meshrif
Sandy H. Elkayal
Mohamed A. Soliman
Amal I. Seif
Thomas Roeder
Metabolic and immunological responses of Drosophila melanogaster to dietary restriction and bacterial infection differ substantially between genotypes in a population
Ecology and Evolution
diversity
fruit fly
infection
restricted diet
trait plasticity
title Metabolic and immunological responses of Drosophila melanogaster to dietary restriction and bacterial infection differ substantially between genotypes in a population
title_full Metabolic and immunological responses of Drosophila melanogaster to dietary restriction and bacterial infection differ substantially between genotypes in a population
title_fullStr Metabolic and immunological responses of Drosophila melanogaster to dietary restriction and bacterial infection differ substantially between genotypes in a population
title_full_unstemmed Metabolic and immunological responses of Drosophila melanogaster to dietary restriction and bacterial infection differ substantially between genotypes in a population
title_short Metabolic and immunological responses of Drosophila melanogaster to dietary restriction and bacterial infection differ substantially between genotypes in a population
title_sort metabolic and immunological responses of drosophila melanogaster to dietary restriction and bacterial infection differ substantially between genotypes in a population
topic diversity
fruit fly
infection
restricted diet
trait plasticity
url https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8960
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