Adaptation to developmental diet influences the response to selection on age at reproduction in the fruit fly

Christina M. May, Joost van den Heuvel, Agnieszka Doroszuk, Katja M. Hoedjes, Thomas Flatt, Bas J. Zwaan*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Experimental evolution (EE) is a powerful tool for addressing how environmental factors influence life-history evolution. While in nature different selection pressures experienced across the lifespan shape life histories, EE studies typically apply selection pressures one at a time. Here, we assess the consequences of adaptation to three different developmental diets in combination with classical selection for early or late reproduction in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. We find that the response to each selection pressure is similar to that observed when they are applied independently, but the overall magnitude of the response depends on the selection regime experienced in the other life stage. For example, adaptation to increased age at reproduction increased lifespan across all diets; however, the extent of the increase was dependent on the dietary selection regime. Similarly, adaptation to a lower calorie developmental diet led to faster development and decreased adult weight, but the magnitude of the response was dependent on the age-at-reproduction selection regime. Given that multiple selection pressures are prevalent in nature, our findings suggest that trade-offs should be considered not only among traits within an organism, but also among adaptive responses to different—sometimes conflicting—selection pressures, including across life stages.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)425-437
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Evolutionary Biology
Volume32
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2019
Externally publishedYes

Funding

We would like to thank KeesKoops, DennieHelmink, MarijkeSlakhorst, Bertha Koopmaanschap and Gabriella Bukovinszkine Kiss for help with the initial set-up of the EE populations, their maintenance and the set-up of phenotyping sessions. We would also like to thank FonsDebets, JelleZandveld, Florien Gorter and Claudio Valero Jimenez for helpful discussions on the experimental design and interpretation of the results. This work was supported by the European Union's FP6 Programme (Network of Excellence LifeSpan FP6/036894) and the EU's FP7 Programme

FundersFunder number
EU's FP7
European Union's FP6
IDEALFP7/2007-2011/259679
Seventh Framework Programme259679
FP7 Coordination of Non-Community Research Programmes
European CommissionFP6/036894

    Keywords

    • ageing
    • experimental evolution
    • life-history evolution
    • phenotypic plasticity

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Adaptation to developmental diet influences the response to selection on age at reproduction in the fruit fly'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this