Dietary restriction (DR) is one of the most potent ways to extend health- and lifespan. Key progress in understanding the mechanisms of DR, and ageing more generally, was made when dietary protein, and more specifically essential amino acids (EAA), were identified as the dietary component to restrict to obtain DR’s health and lifespan benefits. This role of dietary amino acids has influenced work on ageing mechanisms, especially in nutrient sensing, e.g. Tor and insulin(-like) signalling networks. Experimental biology in Drosophila melanogaster has been instrumental in generating and confirming the hypothesis that EAA availability is important in ageing. Here, we expand on previous work testing the involvement of EAA in DR through large scale (N=6,238) supplementation experiments across four diets and two genotypes in female flies. Surprisingly, we find that EAA are not essential to DR’s lifespan benefits. Importantly, we do identify the fecundity benefits of EAA supplementation suggesting the supplemented EAA were bioavailable. Furthermore, we find that the effects of amino acids on lifespan vary by diet and genetic line studied and that at our most restricted diet fecundity is constrained by other nutrients than EAA. We suggest that DR for optimal health is a concert of nutritional effects, orchestrated by genetic, dietary and other environmental interactions. Our results question the universal importance of amino acid availability in the biology of ageing and DR.

Dietary restriction (DR) is one of the most potent ways to extend health- and lifespan. Key progress in understanding the mechanisms of DR, and ageing more generally, was made when dietary protein, and more specifically essential amino acids (EAA), were identified as the key dietary component to restrict to obtain DR’s health and lifespan benefits. This role of dietary amino acids has strongly influenced work on ageing mechanisms, especially in nutrient sensing, e.g. Tor and insulin(-like) signalling networks. Experimental biology in Drosophila melanogaster has been instrumental in generating and confirming the now dominant hypothesis that EAA availability is central to ageing. Here, we expand on previous work testing the involvement of EAA in DR through large scale (N=6,238) supplementation experiments across four diets and two genotypes in female flies. Surprisingly, we find that EAA are not essential to DR’s lifespan benefits. Importantly, we do identify the fecundity benefits of EAA supplementation suggesting the supplemented EAA were bioavailable. Furthermore, we find that the effects of amino acids on lifespan vary by diet and genetic line studied and that at our most restricted diet fecundity is constrained by other nutrients than EAA. We suggest that DR for optimal health is a concert of nutritional effects, orchestrated by genetic, diet and environmental interactions. Our results question the universal importance of amino acid availability in the biology of ageing and DR.