Dataset Information

The evolutionary potential of diet-dependent effects on lifespan and fecundity in a multi-parental population of Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT: The nutritional conditions experienced by a population have a major role in shaping trait evolution in many taxa. Constraints exerted by nutrient limitation or nutrient imbalance can influence the maximal value that fitness components such as reproduction and lifespan attains, and organisms may shift how resources are allocated to different structures and functions in response to changes in nutrition. Whether the phenotypic changes associated with changes in nutrition represent an adaptive response is largely unknown. Further, it is unclear whether the response of fitness components to diet even has the potential to evolve in most systems. In this study, we use an admixed multi-parental population of Drosophila melanogaster reared in three different diet conditions to estimate quantitative genetic parameters for lifespan and fecundity. We find significant genetic variation for both traits in our population and show that lifespan has moderate to high heritabilities within diets. Genetic correlations for lifespan between diets were significantly less than one, demonstrating a strong genotype by diet interaction. These findings demonstrate substantial standing genetic variation in our population that is comparable to natural populations and highlights the potential for adaptation to changing nutritional environments.

SUBMITTER: Ng'oma E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6461879 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The evolutionary potential of diet-dependent effects on lifespan and fecundity in a multi-parental population of Drosophila melanogaster.

Ng'oma Enoch E Fidelis Wilton W Middleton Kevin M KM King Elizabeth G EG

Heredity 20181024 5

The nutritional conditions experienced by a population have a major role in shaping trait evolution in many taxa. Constraints exerted by nutrient limitation or nutrient imbalance can influence the maximal value that fitness components such as reproduction and lifespan attains, and organisms may shift how resources are allocated to different structures and functions in response to changes in nutrition. Whether the phenotypic changes associated with changes in nutrition represent an adaptive respo ...[more]

PMID: 30356225

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Project description:Mounting and maintaining an effective immune response in the face of infection can be costly. The outcome of infection depends on two host immune strategies: resistance and tolerance. Resistance limits pathogen load, while tolerance reduces the fitness impact of an infection. While resistance strategies are well studied, tolerance has received less attention, but is now considered to play a vital role in host-pathogen interactions in animals. A major challenge in ecoimmunology is to understand how some hosts maintain their fitness when infected while others succumb to infection, as well as how extrinsic, environmental factors, such as diet, affect defense. We tested whether dietary restriction through yeast (protein) limitation affects resistance, tolerance, and fecundity in Drosophila melanogaster. We predicted that protein restriction would reveal costs of infection. Because infectious diseases are not always lethal, we tested resistance and tolerance using two bacteria with low lethality: Escherichia coli and Lactococcus lactis. We then assayed fecundity and characterized bacterial infection pathology in individual flies at two acute phase time points after infection. As expected, our four fecundity measures all showed a negative effect of a low-protein diet, but contrary to predictions, diet did not affect resistance to either bacteria species. We found evidence for diet-induced and time-dependent variation in host tolerance to E. coli, but not to L. lactis. Furthermore, the two bacteria species exhibited remarkably different infection profiles, and persisted within the flies for at least 7 days postinfection. Our results show that acute phase infections do not necessarily lead to fecundity costs despite high bacterial loads. The influence of intrinsic variables such as genotype are the prevailing factors that have been studied in relation to variation in host tolerance, but here we show that extrinsic factors should also be considered for their role in influencing tolerance strategies.

Dataset Information

The evolutionary potential of diet-dependent effects on lifespan and fecundity in a multi-parental population of Drosophila melanogaster.

Publications

The evolutionary potential of diet-dependent effects on lifespan and fecundity in a multi-parental population of Drosophila melanogaster.

Similar Datasets

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