Amino acid quality modifies the quantitative availability of protein for reproduction in Drosophila melanogaster. (May 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ma, Carolyn; Mirth, Christen K.; Hall, Matthew D.; Piper, Matthew D.W.
• Is Part Of: Journal of insect physiology. Volume 139(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-05
• Subjects: Amino acids -- Reproduction -- Drosophila melanogaster -- Protein quality -- Nutritional geometry; Insects -- Physiology -- Periodicals; Insectes -- Physiologie -- Périodiques; Insects -- Physiology; Periodicals; 571.157
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2020.104050
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-1910

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Highlights: Diverse sources of dietary protein vary in their nutritional value to the consumer. Matching dietary amino acid balance to the Drosophila exome enhanced egg laying. Exome matching provides a quantitative measure of dietary protein quality. Different proteins change how protein × carbohydrate interactions affect physiology. Abstract: Diet composition, especially the relative abundance of key macronutrients, is well known to affect animal wellbeing by changing reproductive output, metabolism and length of life. However, less attention has been paid to the ways the quality of these nutrients modify these macronutrient interactions. Nutritional Geometry can be used to model the effects of multiple dietary components on life-history traits and to compare these responses when diet quality is varied. Previous studies have shown that dietary protein quality can be increased for egg production in Drosophila melanogaster by matching the dietary amino acid proportions to the balance of amino acids used by the sum of proteins in the fly's in silico translated exome. Here, we show that dietary protein quality dramatically alters the effect of protein quantity on female reproduction across a broad range of diets varying in both protein and carbohydrate concentrations. These data show that when sources of ingredients vary, their relative value to the consumer can vastly differ and yield very different physiological outcomes. Such variations could be particularly important for meta analyses that look to draw generalisable conclusions from diverse studies.