scholarly journals Dietary protein content affects evolution for body size, body fat and viability in Drosophila melanogaster

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten N. Kristensen ◽  
Johannes Overgaard ◽  
Volker Loeschcke ◽  
David Mayntz

The ability to use different food sources is likely to be under strong selection if organisms are faced with natural variation in macro-nutrient (protein, carbohydrate and lipid) availabilities. Here, we use experimental evolution to study how variable dietary protein content affects adult body composition and developmental success in Drosophila melanogaster . We reared flies on either a standard diet or a protein-enriched diet for 17 generations before testing them on both diet types. Flies from lines selected on protein-rich diet produced phenotypes with higher total body mass and relative lipid content when compared with those selected on a standard diet, irrespective of which of the two diets they were tested on. However, selection on protein-rich diet incurred a cost as flies reared on this diet had markedly lower developmental success in terms of egg-to-adult viability on both medium types, suggesting a possible trade-off between the traits investigated.

1963 ◽  
Vol 205 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Cohn ◽  
D. Joseph ◽  
L. Bell ◽  
A. Oler

Normal young adult male rats were allowed to eat a diet of a specified protein content ad libitum, or were pair-force-fed the same diet twice a day. At the end of 14 days of controlled feeding, the animals were killed and analyzed for total body lipids. These analyses showed that the fat content of the force-fed animals, relative to those that ate ad libitum, became progressively greater as the dietary protein was increased in quantity from 0 to 67% of the diet. Furthermore, it was observed that force-fed animals excreted about 37% more urea nitrogen over a 7-day period than pair-fed animals eating ad libitum. Abruptly reversing the feeding habits of the rats immediately reversed the relative amounts of urinary nitrogen they excreted. The results of both types of experiments suggest that the intermediary metabolism of protein is related to feeding frequency (or load of absorbed nutrients to be metabolized per unit time). With fewer feedings but with total 24-hr intake constant, less dietary protein appears to participate in protein anabolic reactions since larger amounts of nitrogen are lost in the urine.


2005 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 357-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Foote ◽  
Nonnecke† ◽  
Waters ◽  
Palmer ◽  
Beitz ◽  
...  

Effects of increased protein and energy provided by an intensified milk replacer on the antigen-specific, cell-mediated immune response of the neonatal calf were examined. Calves were fed a standard (0.45 kg/day of a 20% crude protein, 20% fat milk replacer; n = 11) or intensified (1.14 kg/day of a 28% crude protein, 20% fat milk replacer; n = 11) diet from 0 to 6 weeks of age. All calves were vaccinated with Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) at 1 week of age. The daily weight gain of intensified-diet calves (0.62 kg/day) was greater than the weight gain of standard-diet calves (0.29 kg/day). Liver, kidney, heart, thymus, and subcervical lymph nodes from intensified-diet calves were heavier than the same organs from standard-diet calves. Flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) populations indicated that CD4+ cells, gamma delta TCR+ cells, and monocyte percentages, although unaffected by diet during the first 5 weeks of the study, were higher in intensified-diet calves at week 6. The decline in gamma deltad TCR+ cell percentages and increase in B cell percentages with increasing age seen in all calves are characteristic of the maturing immune system of the calf. CD8+ T cell or B cell percentages were not affected by diet. In intensified-diet calves, percentages of CD4+ expressing interleukin-2 receptor increased and percentages of gamma delta TCR+ cells expressing interleukin-2 receptor decreased with time. The same populations in standard-diet calves did not change with time. Percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and B cells expressing MHC class II antigen, were unaffected by diet or age. Although mitogen-induced interferon (IFN)-gamma and nitric oxide (NO) secretion increased with age for all calves, PBMC from intensified-diet calves produced less IFN-gamma and more NO than did cells from standard-diet calves at week 6 of the study. Antigen-induced secretion of IFN-gamma and NO also increased with age but was unaffected by diet. Antigen-elicited delayed-type hypersensitivity was unaffected by diet, suggesting increased dietary protein and energy did not alter adaptive immunity in vivo. Overall, these results suggest that feeding calves a commercially available, intensified milk replacer affects minimally the composition and functional capacities of PBMC populations. Additional research is necessary to determine whether these subtle effects influence the calf’s susceptibility to infectious disease.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1062
Author(s):  
Casandra Madrigal ◽  
María José Soto-Méndez ◽  
Ángela Hernández-Ruiz ◽  
Teresa Valero ◽  
Federico Lara Villoslada ◽  
...  

Diet in the first years of life is an important factor in growth and development. Dietary protein is a critical macronutrient that provides both essential and nonessential amino acids required for sustaining all body functions and procedures, providing the structural basis to maintain life and healthy development and growth in children. In this study, our aim was to describe the total protein intake, type and food sources of protein, the adequacy to the Population Reference Intake (PRI) for protein by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) by the Institute of Medicine (IoM). Furthermore, we analyzed whether the consumption of dairy products (including regular milk, dairy products, or adapted milk formulas) is associated with nutrient adequacy and the contribution of protein to diet and whole dietary profile in the two cohorts of the EsNuPI (in English, Nutritional Study in the Spanish Pediatric Population) study; one cohort was representative of the Spanish population from one to < 10 years old (n = 707) (Spanish reference cohort, SRS) who reported consuming all kinds of milk and one was a cohort of the same age who reported consuming adapted milk over the last year (including follow-on formula, growing up milk, toddler’s milk, and enriched and fortified milks) (n = 741) (adapted milk consumers cohort, AMS). The children of both cohorts had a high contribution from protein to total energy intake (16.79% SRS and 15.63% AMS) and a high total protein intake (60.89 g/day SRS and 53.43 g/day AMS). We observed that protein intake in Spanish children aged one to < 10 years old was above the European and international recommendations, as well as the recommended percentages for energy intakes. The main protein sources were milk and dairy products (28% SRS and 29% AMS) and meat and meat products (27% SRS and 26% AMS), followed by cereals (16% SRS and 15% AMS), fish and shellfish (8% in both cohorts), eggs (5% SRS and 6% AMS), and legumes (4% in both cohorts). In our study population, protein intake was mainly from an animal origin (meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, fish and shellfish, and eggs) rather than from a plant origin (cereals and legumes). Future studies should investigate the long-term effect of dietary protein in early childhood on growth and body composition, and whether high protein intake affects health later in life.


2000 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Palle V. Rasmussen ◽  
Christian F. Børsting

The effect of different and shifting dietary protein levels on hair growth and the resulting pelt quality in mink was studied. Two groups of pastel female mink were fed either 59% (high protein, HP) or 40% (low protein, LP) of metabolisable energy (ME) from protein during pregnancy and lactation. Shortly after weaning, kits from females fed the LP diet were put on a new LP diet (21% protein of ME). Kits from females fed HP were randomly distributed to four experimental groups fed a new HP diet (34% protein of ME) and three of these groups were shifted to diets with 21% protein at different times during June until September. Skin biopsies were taken at 4, 6, 23 and, 29 wk of age. Histological techniques and computer-assisted light microscopy were used to determine the ratio of activity (ROA) of underfur and guard hairs, respectively, defined as the number of growing hairs as a percentage of the total number of hairs. The hair fibre length and thickness were determined by morphometric methods and correlated with fur properties of dried pelts judged by sensory methods. It was documented that 40% of ME from protein during pregnancy and lactation was sufficient for mink kits to express their genetic capacity to produce hair follicles. In males, a reduced protein level from the age of 15 wk or 22 wk until pelting disturbed moulting, indicated by a low ROA of underfur hairs at 23 wk, and consequently reduced the growth and development of the winter coat. A constantly low protein level from conception until the age of 29 wk did not disturb moulting, but led to a reduction of primeness and especially of the underfur length and fibre thickness of the winter coat. A low protein level from the age of 9 wk only reduced the thickness of the underfur fibres. Hair growth, final fur volume, and general quality of the winter coat of males were influenced negatively and to the same degree in all groups fed the LP diet in part of the growth period. The number of underfur hairs per area (hair density) of the winter coat was not influenced by the dietary treatment meaning that the protein content of 21% of ME in the LP diet was high enough for the mink to express its genetic capacity to develop hair follicles. However, this low protein content led to a reduction of hair fibre length and hair fibre thickness of the underfur. Overall, this study demonstrated that hair growth and hair properties in pelts are very dependent on the dietary protein supply in the period from 22 wk of age until pelting, irrespective of the supply in the preceding periods. Key words: Fur properties, hair fibres, nutrition, pelage, protein requirement


1929 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-324
Author(s):  
R. CUMMING ROBB

1. Throughout post-natal life the relative weights of the pituitary body, thyroid, thymus and adrenals in the rabbit may be expressed by the equation y = axk + c. 2. A similar association is indicated in the rat for the weights of eyeballs, liver, pancreas, hypophysis, thyroid, adrenals, submaxillary glands, kidney and fresh skeleton (data from Donaldson, 1924). 3. In giant and pigmy rabbits, the ultimate proportions of body parts are not the same, but (for any given body weight) corresponding tissues in the two groups tend to exhibit an identical relation to total body mass. 4. The adrenals and testes of the Polish rabbits are relatively much larger than those of the Flemish. But in each case the growth of the adrenal approximates to a constant power function of body weight. Moreover, in these two groups and in their hybrids, the growth of the testes adheres to a simple association with adrenal weight identical for each. 5. These data suggest the generalisation that in a growing organism the magnitude of any part tends to be a specific function of the total body mass or of some portion so related to the whole. 6. These associations may be explained by surmising that each tissue is in equilibrium with the internal milieu with regard to the distribution of nutrient growth essentials; that in each case the equilibrium point would be determined by the nature of the cell and after differentiation would tend to remain constant; and that the relative enlargement of each tissue is limited by the excess of the equilibrium value over the katabolic expenditure. 7. According to the above hypothesis of organ growth, the equation y = axk + c may possess a physical significance. Eight types of growth relationships may thus exist, differing because of the apparent inactivity of one or more constants in this equation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (03) ◽  
pp. 289-292
Author(s):  
Pranesh ◽  
S. Ramesh

AbstractProtein energy malnutrition (PEM) is prevalent in south-east Asian countries including India. Breeding and introduction of grain protein-rich varieties of legumes such as dolichos bean is considered as cost-effective approach to combat PEM. Exploitation of genetic variability within germplasm accessions (GAs) and/or breeding populations is the short-term strategy for identification and delivery of protein-rich dolichos bean cultivars to cater to the immediate needs of the farmers and target population. A set of 118 dolichos bean genotypes consisting of 96 GAs and 20 advanced breeding lines (ABLs) and two released varieties (RVs) was field evaluated in augmented deign for dry grain yield per plant and their grain protein contents were estimated. The grain protein content among the genotypes ranged from 18.82 to 24.5% with a mean of 21.73%. The magnitude of estimates of absolute range, standardized range, and phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) for grain protein content was higher among GAs than those among ABLs + RVs. However, average grain protein contents of GAs were comparable to those of ABLs + RVs. Nearly 50% of the genotypes (mostly GAs) had significantly higher grain protein content than those of RVs, HA 3 and HA 4. The grain protein contents of the genotypes were poorly correlated with grain yield per plant. These results are discussed in relation to strategies to breed grain protein-rich dolichos bean cultivars.


2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 368-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J Fitzpatrick ◽  
Evelyn Szewczyk

Denticles are small projections on the underside of larval fruit flies that are used to grip the substrate while crawling. Previous studies have shown that (i) there is natural variation in denticle number and pattern between Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen, 1830) and several closely related species and (ii) mutations affecting denticle morphology have negative effects on locomotory performance. We hypothesized that there would be a correlation between denticle number and locomotory performance within populations of D. melanogaster. Despite finding considerable variation in denticle number, we found no correlation between denticle number and three measurements of larval locomotion: speed, acceleration, and absolute turning rate.


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