Terminal investment strategies following infection are dependent on diet.
J Evol Biol
; 33(3): 309-317, 2020 03.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31705829
ABSTRACT
When future reproductive potential is threatened, for example following infection, the terminal investment hypothesis predicts that individuals will respond by investing preferentially in current reproduction. Terminal investment involves reallocating resources to current reproductive effort, so it is likely to be influenced by the quantity and quality of resources acquired through diet. Dietary protein specifically has been shown to impact both immunity and reproduction in a range of organisms, but its impact on terminal investment is unclear. We challenged females from ten naturally derived fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) genotypes with the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We then placed these on either a standard or isocaloric high-protein diet, and measured multiple components of reproductive investment. As oogenesis requires protein, and flies increase egg production with protein intake, we hypothesized that terminal investment would be easier to observe if protein was not already limiting. Oral exposure to the pathogen triggered an increase in reproductive investment. However, whereas flies feeding on a high-protein diet increased the number of eggs laid when exposed to P. aeruginosa, those fed the standard diet did not increase the number of eggs laid but increased egg-to-adult viability following infection. This suggests that the specific routes through which flies terminally invest are influenced by the protein content of the maternal diet. We discuss the importance of considering diet and natural routes of infection when measuring nonimmunological defences.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Proteínas en la Dieta
/
Dieta
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Drosophila melanogaster
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Evol Biol
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA
Año:
2020
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Reino Unido
Pais de publicación:
CH
/
SUIZA
/
SUÍÇA
/
SWITZERLAND