The sex- and duration-dependent effects of intermittent fasting on lifespan and reproduction of spider mite Tetranychus urticae

Abstract

Background Intermittent fasting (IF) is receiving increasing attention as an alternative to continuous restriction of calories because of its benefits in aging-related disease prevention and lifespan extension. However, whether both sexes with sexual dimorphism have similar response to IF have rarely been assayed. In this study, we determined how different durations of IF influence lifespan and whether males and females differed in their responses to IF. We also tested whether there is a trade-off between lifespan and lifetime reproduction in females under IF. Method We used spider mite Tetranychus urticae, with female-biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD), as our model species to investigate the survival and lifespan difference of both sexes at different durations of IF regimes, and explore the association between longevity and fecundity in females within and across treatments. Results The lifespan of females increased before intermediate level of IF and then decreased afterwards, but males showed a decreasing trend in lifespan when subjected to IF. Within each treatment, female longevity was positively associated with their fecundity. However, the females fed ad libitum had a higher lifetime fecundity with a shorter lifespan, whereas mites fed 50% IF outlived ad libitum fed ones with lower fecundity because of the later onset of reproduction and lower daily fecundity, showing clear survival and reproduction trade-off when variation of resource availability enhanced across treatments. Conclusion We showed sex-specific response to IF in lifespan, indicating that sexes with SSD have different optimal level of IF. These findings showed trade-off between survival and reproduction between treatments but not within treatments, suggesting that variation in resource availability is the necessary precondition for life history trade-off, and IF extends lifespan of females at the cost of reproductive success.

Age‐specific mortality and fecundity of a spider mite under diet restriction and delayed mating

“…With path analysis, both direct and indirect effects of diet regimen, mating status, early fitness traits and late fitness traits on the lifetime fitness were considered. Consistent with previous studies, both diet and mating exerted a pronounced influence on longevity and fecundity of this species (Li & Zhang, 2019, 2020a, 2020b; Rodrigues et al ., 2020). Although limiting food reduced the lifetime fecundity of the females and increased their longevity, there was no expected trade‐off between longevity and lifetime reproduction because they are positively associated, with the long‐lived females producing more eggs.…”

Predation stress experienced as immature mites extends their lifespan

“…Many previous studies have focused on the effects of diet on the trade-offs between early reproduction and late senescence (e.g. Inness and Metcalfe 2008 ; Kwang et al 2008 ; Blacher et al 2017 ; Li and Zhang 2019b ); and some studies have focused on the influences of diet on the trade-offs between early development and late lifespan (English and Uller 2016 ; Angell et al 2020 ), and reproductive traits (Vega-Trejo et al 2016 ). However, fewer studies have examined potential negative effects such as predation risks, which could also indirectly influence the trade-offs between early life and later life traits.…”

“…Mite prey-predator systems are useful models for studying the effects of predation stress on prey life history traits including aging and lifespan (Li and Zhang 2019b ). Behavioural responses of prey mites to predator cues have been well demonstrated: prey ( Tetranychus urticae ) increased activity and aggregation behaviour in response of cues of its predator Phytoseiulus persimilis (Hackl and Schausberger 2014 ; Dittmann and Schausberger 2017 ); prey mites ( T. urticae ) could avoid areas previously exposed to phytoseiid predators (Kriesch and Dicke 1997 ; Grostal and Dicke 1999 ); prey males ( Aculops allotrichus) chose not to deposit spermatophores (Michalska 2016 ) and prey females ( T. urticae ) actively avoided depositing eggs in areas with signs of phytoseiid predators (Walzer and Schausberger 2012 ).…”

Introducing a survey of mite lifespans: How long do Acari live?

“…As acarologists, we very much appreciate the life history diversity in the Acari (Houck 1994) and understand the ease with which many species of mites can be cultured in the laboratory and experimentally manipulated to address questions in biology. We have used different groups of mites as experimental systems to study several aspects of animal aging and lifespan: e.g., the extension of lifespan by different methods of diet restriction (Li & Zhang 2019, 2021aLee et al 2020), the effects of pathogenic fungi on mite host lifespan (Liu et al 2019), the effects of delayed/repeated mating (Li & Zhang 2021a,c), intrasexual and intersexual interactions within species (Li & Zhang 2021b) or stress induced by predators Li & Zhang 2020) on the lifespan and/or other related life history traits. During our research, it becomes apparent that there is a vast body of literature on mite lifespans scattered in many journals and books, yet mites (and indeed many other arthropods) are very poorly represented in the gerontological literature and databases, which are heavily focused on vertebrate models and selected invertebrates such as Drosophila.…”