Biological stoichiometry of growth in Drosophila melanogaster

Watts, Thomas D.; Woods, H. Arthur; Hargand, Sarah; Elser, James J.; Markow, Therese A.

doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2005.09.012

Cited by 36 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Larval Drosophila melanogaster , for example, exhibit substantial shifts in their nitrogen and phosphorus contents as they age. Young larvae tend to have 30% more nitrogen and 200% more phosphorus than larvae that are about to pupate (Watts et al 2006). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extensive Natural Intraspecific Variation in Stoichiometric (C:N:P) Composition in Two Terrestrial Insect Species

Bertram

Bowen

Kyle

et al. 2008

Journal of Insect Science

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Heterotrophic organisms must obtain essential elements in sufficient quantities from their food. Because plants naturally exhibit extensive variation in their elemental content, it is important to quantify the within-species stoichiometric variation of consumers. If extensive stoichiometric variation exists, it may help explain consumer variation in life-history strategy and fitness. To date, however, research on stoichiometric variation has focused on interspecific differences and assumed minimal intraspecific differences. Here this assumption is tested. Natural variation is quantified in body stoichiometry of two terrestrial insects: the generalist field cricket, Gryllus texensis Cade and Otte (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) and a specialist curculionid weevil, Sabinia setosa (Le Conte) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Both species exhibited extensive intraspecific stoichiometric variation. Cricket body nitrogen content ranged from 8–12% and there was a four-fold difference in body phosphorus content, ranging from 0.32–1.27%. Body size explained half this stoichiometric variation, with larger individuals containing less nitrogen and phosphorus. Weevils exhibited an almost three-fold difference in body phosphorus content, ranging from 0.38–0.97%. Overall, the variation observed within each of these species is comparable to the variation previously observed across almost all terrestrial insect species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extensive Natural Intraspecific Variation in Stoichiometric (C:N:P) Composition in Two Terrestrial Insect Species

Bertram

Bowen

Kyle

et al. 2008

Journal of Insect Science

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“…P is needed to produce RNA, DNA, membranes and proteins; our data suggest that long-term consumption of diets with less than 0.1%P does not yield sufficient P to grow an adult S. americana, even with all other diet components near optimal. The mechanisms by which increases in dietary P from 0.1% to 0.5% increased growth rate are unclear, but may reflect the P demands needed to maintain higher body levels of P-rich RNA, as found in Daphnia and Drosophila Watts et al, 2006). The lower growth rates of grasshoppers on 1.00%P diets (Fig.…”

Section: Effects Of Dietary P On Growth Development and Survivalmentioning

confidence: 98%

Dietary phosphate affects food selection, post-ingestive P fate, and performance of a polyphagous herbivore

Cease

Fay

Elser

et al. 2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Comparisons of the carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus (P) content of plants and insect herbivores suggests that P limitation and herbivore foraging to balance P intake could be common. However, the lack of synthetic diets for testing the effects of lower ranges of dietary P has been a major impediment to experimental assessment of the ecological importance of, and physiological responses to, P limitation for terrestrial herbivores. We manipulated dietary P content (%P) over its observed range in terrestrial foliage using artificial diets containing near-optimal content of other nutrients for the grasshopper Schistocerca americana. Over much of the ecologically relevant range, when consuming single diets over a lifetime, higher P stimulated growth rates and increased survival, with an optimal dietary %P of 0.25-0.50% when measured throughout development. Excessive dietary P (1%) reduced growth and survival. However, with only short-term (3 day) confinement to single diets, dietary P had no effect on food consumption or growth rates. During these short exposures, fifth (but not third) instar hoppers increased the proportion of P excreted relative to P assimilated as dietary P increased. Target experiments demonstrated that, when given a choice, grasshoppers select among foods to attain a P intake target of 0.6%. These data suggest that P limitation could be common for terrestrial insect herbivores and that they can exhibit ingestive and post-ingestive mechanisms to attain sufficient but not excessive P.

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“…Laboratory-reared juvenile mayflies fed low phosphorus diets also had significantly reduced growth rates compared to mayflies fed high phosphorus diets (Frost and Elser 2002). Further, RNA concentrations and total body phosphorus content were positively correlated with ontogenetically based changes in growth rate in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster (Watts et al 2006). Additionally, the fraction of total body phosphorus that contributed to rRNA increased with increasing growth rate (Watts et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further, RNA concentrations and total body phosphorus content were positively correlated with ontogenetically based changes in growth rate in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster (Watts et al 2006). Additionally, the fraction of total body phosphorus that contributed to rRNA increased with increasing growth rate (Watts et al 2006). Because growth rates are central to life history theory, the growth rate hypothesis links the availability of essential but limiting elemental nutrients to evolutionary questions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because RNA is almost 10% phosphorus by weight, differences in the availability of phosphorus in the diet may explain the link between phosphorus availability and growth rate (Sterner et al 1995; Elser et al 1996; Elser et al 2000a). The phosphorus rich signature of rapid growth (Main et al 1997; Watts et al 2006) may therefore be a cellular necessity, derived from the fact that ribosomes are unusually rich in phosphorus (Elser et al 1996). A consistent positive association should therefore be expected between growth rate, RNA concentration, and percent phosphorus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How Dietary Phosphorus Availability during Development Influences Condition and Life History Traits of the Cricket,Acheta domesticas

Visanuvimol

Bertram

2011

Journal of Insect Science

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Phosphorus is extremely limited in the environment, often being 10–20 times lower in plants than what invertebrate herbivores require. This mismatch between resource availability and resource need can profoundly influence herbivore life history traits and fitness. This study investigated how dietary phosphorus availability influenced invertebrate growth, development time, consumption, condition, and lifespan using juvenile European house crickets, Acheta domesticus L. (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Crickets reared on high phosphorus diets ate more food, gained more weight, were in better condition at maturity, and contained more phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon in their bodies at death than crickets reared on low phosphorus diets. There was also a trend for crickets reared on high phosphorus diets to become larger adults (interaction with weight prior to the start of the experiment). These findings can be added to the small but growing number of studies that reveal the importance of phosphorus to insect life history traits. Future research should explore the importance of dietary phosphorus availability relative to protein, lipid, and carbohydrate availability.

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Biological stoichiometry of growth in Drosophila melanogaster

Cited by 36 publications

References 29 publications

Extensive Natural Intraspecific Variation in Stoichiometric (C:N:P) Composition in Two Terrestrial Insect Species

Extensive Natural Intraspecific Variation in Stoichiometric (C:N:P) Composition in Two Terrestrial Insect Species

Dietary phosphate affects food selection, post-ingestive P fate, and performance of a polyphagous herbivore

How Dietary Phosphorus Availability during Development Influences Condition and Life History Traits of the Cricket,Acheta domesticas

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