Diet and thermal limits: eating for survival and fertility

饮食和热量限制：为了生存和生育而饮食

• 批准号: 2750819
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Liverpool
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2750819
• 关键词: Diet; thermal; limits; eating; survival

Climate change increases the frequency of extreme weather events. Heatwaves can kill organisms, but may also increase extinction risk by harming fertility. Sperm are thought to be especially sensitive to heat, and male insects often become infertile at lower-than-fatal temperatures. But can organisms do anything to buffer against temperature extremes? Recent discoveries show that remarkably, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, changes its diet to buffer against heat and cold. It switches its food preferences in response to temperature, to obtain dietary lipids that allow it to better survive. Specifically, eating plant-derived lipids helps it survive the cold, while eating yeast-derived lipids helps it survive the heat. However, we do not know whether this adaptation is also present in other species that experience different climates, nor whether dietary changes improve reproductive performance, as well as survival, under temperature stress.Objectives:The overall aim is to test whether different species of fruit flies, originating from a range of natural climates, use diet switches to survive and reproduce under temperature extremes. The specific objectives are:1) To test the hypothesis that temperature-mediated diet switches are more prevalent in species that experience bigger seasonal temperature ranges.2) To test whether dietary lipids alter the reproductive performance of males and females under temperature extremes.Novelty and Timeliness:Knowledge of how organisms mitigate against extreme temperatures is vital if we are to predict how biodiversity will respond to climate change. The role of diet relatively unexplored, but has the potential to act as a prophylactic against temperature extremes. This project will establish whether diet switching is a widespread temperature coping mechanism among a genus of insects, covering a wide climatic range. The project will also explore whether fertilisation success - a key factor in species' persistence and in sexual selection - is part of the equation.

气候变化增加了极端天气事件的频率。热浪可以杀死生物体，但也可能通过损害生育能力来增加灭绝风险。精子被认为对热特别敏感，雄性昆虫在低于致命温度的情况下通常会变得不育。但是生物体能做些什么来缓冲极端温度吗？最近的发现表明，值得注意的是，果蝇Drosophila melanogaster改变了它的饮食以缓冲热和冷。它会根据温度改变食物偏好，以获得饮食脂质，使其更好地生存。具体来说，食用植物来源的脂质有助于它抵御寒冷，而食用酵母来源的脂质有助于它抵御炎热。然而，我们不知道这种适应是否也存在于其他物种，经历不同的气候，也没有饮食的变化是否提高生殖性能，以及生存，温度stress.Objectives：的总体目标是测试是否不同种类的果蝇，起源于一系列的自然气候，使用饮食开关生存和繁殖温度极端。具体目标是：1）验证温度介导的饮食转换在经历较大季节温度范围的物种中更普遍的假设。2）测试饮食脂质是否会改变极端温度下雄性和雌性的生殖性能。新奇和时间性：如果我们要预测生物多样性将如何应对气候变化，了解生物如何缓解极端温度至关重要。饮食的作用相对未被探索，但有可能作为预防极端温度。该项目将确定饮食转换是否是一种广泛的温度应对机制，在一个昆虫属，涵盖了广泛的气候范围。该项目还将探索受精成功-物种持久性和性选择的关键因素-是否是等式的一部分。