Towards an integrated understanding of dietary phenotypes

Abstract

Diet and nutrition comprise a complex, multi-faceted interface between animal biology and food environments. With accumulating information on the many facets of this association arises a need for systems-based approaches that integrate dietary components and their links with ecology, feeding, post-ingestive processes and the functional and ecological consequences of these interactions. We briefly show how a modelling approach, nutritional geometry, has used the experimental control afforded in laboratory studies to begin to unravel these links. Laboratory studies, however, have limited ability to establish whether and how the feeding and physiological mechanisms interface with realistic ecological environments. We next provide an overview of observational field studies of free-ranging primates that have examined this, producing largely correlative data suggesting that similar feeding mechanisms operate in the wild as in the laboratory. Significant challenges remain, however, in establishing causal links between feeding, resource variation and physiological processes in the wild. We end with a more detailed account of two studies of temperate primates that have capitalized on the discrete variation provided by seasonal environments to strengthen causal inference in field studies and link patterns of intake to dynamics of nutrient processing. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Food processing and nutritional assimilation in animals’.

Dietary restriction reveals sex-specific expression of the mTOR pathway genes in Japanese quails

“…The intricate interplay between an organism’s genetic makeup and the availability of essential nutrients profoundly influences its overall fitness. This dynamic relationship has the power to modulate gene expression, thereby shaping phenotypic outcomes in various environmental contexts 47 , 48 . In natural conditions, organisms often face challenges such as food shortages, prompting them to make necessary molecular and physiological adjustments to cope with these adversities.…”

Introduction: food processing and nutritional assimilation in animals

“…For example, Li et al [67] define swallowing performance as the safe and efficient bolus transport from the oral cavity to the oesophagus, whereas Clauss et al [68] explore the relationships between chewing and digestive efficiency through a washing mechanism. Beale et al [36] and Raubenheimer et al [69] both assess performance through nutritional and secondary compound intake. This divergence in performance measures reflects the current separation between oral processing and nutritional assimilation studies.…”

“…[ 36 ] and Raubenheimer et al . [ 69 ] both assess performance through nutritional and secondary compound intake. This divergence in performance measures reflects the current separation between oral processing and nutritional assimilation studies.…”

‘Dust you shall eat’: The complex nutritional and functional considerations underlying a simple diet

“…Function contributing foods can, thus, be considered an acquired extension of the animal digestive phenotype, allowing explaining discrepancies between the intake targets of conspecifics that feed on either natural or artificial diets. This nutritionalfunctional approach, however, is rarely being considered when exploring the dietary phenotype of animals (Raubenheimer et al, 2023).…”