Transient and Permanent Experience with Fatty Acids Changes Drosophila melanogaster Preference and Fitness

Abstract

Food and host-preference relies on genetic adaptation and sensory experience. In vertebrates, experience with food-related cues during early development can change adult preference. This is also true in holometabolous insects, which undergo a drastic nervous system remodelling during their complete metamorphosis, but remains uncertain in Drosophila melanogaster. We have conditioned D. melanogaster with oleic (C18∶1) and stearic (C18∶0) acids, two common dietary fatty acids, respectively preferred by larvae and adult. Wild-type individuals exposed either during a transient period of development–from embryo to adult–or more permanently–during one to ten generation cycles–were affected by such conditioning. In particular, the oviposition preference of females exposed to each fatty acid during larval development was affected without cross-effect indicating the specificity of each substance. Permanent exposure to each fatty acid also drastically changed oviposition preference as well as major fitness traits (development duration, sex-ratio, fecundity, adult lethality). This suggests that D. melanogaster ability to adapt to new food sources is determined by its genetic and sensory plasticity both of which may explain the success of this generalist-diet species.

Yeast quality in juvenile diet affects Drosophila melanogaster adult life traits

“…Given the possible effects of juvenile diet on adult food preference 17 , we tested the responses of individual flies in a dual food choice experiment presenting either “WT/Ind” diets (Fig. 3a ) or “90°/øY” diets (Fig.…”

Diet alters Drosophila melanogaster mate preference and attractiveness

“…melanogaster and vertebrates (Reviewed by Padmanabha & Baker, 2014;Smith, Thomas, Liu, Li, & Moran, 2014;Teleman, 2010;Tennessen, Barry, Cox, & Thummel, 2014). High fat diet leads to a dysregulation of nutrient storage (Carvalho et al, 2012;Heinrichsen et al, 2014), adverse health effects and stress response (Birse et al, 2010;Heinrichsen & Haddad, 2012;Reed et al, 2014;Reed et al, 2010), decreased lifespan (Driver & Cosopodiotis, 1979;Holmbeck & Rand, 2015), and changes in oviposition site preferences (Flaven-Pouchon et al, 2014). Varying dietary sugar-to-yeast (S:Y) ratios has been found to influence fecundity and longevity, with higher S:Y extending lifespan and lower S:Y enhancing fecundity (Chapman & Partridge, 1996;A.…”

Pre-imaginal conditioning alters adult sex pheromone response in Drosophila

“…We show that adult male courtship suppression by cVA is modulated by exposure to cVA—conjointly with some other substances—during the larval stage. Our findings, together with studies of chemical conditioning in vertebrates ( Bett & Hinch, 2015 ; Coureaud et al, 2006 ; Hauser et al, 2017 ) and Drosophila females ( Flaven-Pouchon et al, 2014 ), suggest that pheromonal responses may be less stereotypical than hitherto suspected, and that developmentally-determined plasticity may play an important role in naturally-occurring variation in chemical communication that may not be readily identified in the laboratory.…”