Trends in lipid and protein contents during medfly aging: An harmonic path to death

Abstract

Survival and egg-laying trends were investigated in Mediterranean fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata) adults maintained on a sucrose-only diet, or on a full diet that consisted of a 3:1 sucrose and yeast hydrolizate mixture. In addition, we followed the total individual lipid and protein contents of aging flies in a cohort. Survival trends and life expectancy parameters at eclosion for males and females on full diet and for males on sucrose only were very similar. In contrast, the mortality of females on sucrose only was high early in life, but then slowed down. Egg-laying was ten times greater in female flies on full diet than in flies on sucrose only. Lipid contents in males and females on both types of diets were very similar, and harmonically oscillated with an amplitude of approximately 10 days. Successive crests of lipids tended to be smaller with the ageing of the cohort, and lipids contents significantly dropped at very advanced ages and close to the maximal age of the whole cohort. Protein contents of flies maintained on a full diet were high and stayed at a constant level throughout the entire life of the cohort. Protein levels in males and females on sucrose only dropped drastically during the first days of adult life, but then stayed stable at a low level until advanced ages. We propose that the synchronous rhythmic oscillation in lipid contents of male and female flies seems to be independently set by an internal clock. Protein reserves are allocated according to the access to protein food sources and these levels of protein are closely associated to egg production and mortality. Our results are discussed in view of resource allocation during reproduction and senescence.

Insects as Food for Insectivores

“…If an insect with a certain amount of protein increases its fat reserve, the percentage of protein thereby decreases (Oonincx and van der Poel, 2011;Simpson and Raubenheimer, 2001;St-Hilaire et al, 2007). This might be the reason why the protein content stays constant during adulthood if a protein source is available and protein content decreases if only a carbohydrate source (which can be converted to fat) is available, as was shown in Mediterranean fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann; Nestel et al, 2005). Although the percentage of protein can be altered through the diet, it seems unlikely that the amino acid composition is affected.…”

“…In several families within the order Lepidoptera, males contain greater fat reserves than females (Beenakkers et al, 1985). In most other species, females have greater fat reserves than males (Lease and Wolf, 2011;Nestel et al, 2005;Zhou et al, 1995). In species that use accumulated energy reserves obtained during their larval stages for reproduction, greater reserves would have a positive effect on fecundity because eggs have a high lipid content and therefore provide fitness advantages (Beenakkers et al, 1985;Downer and Matthews, 1976;Lease and Wolf, 2011).…”

“…In species that use accumulated energy reserves obtained during their larval stages for reproduction, greater reserves would have a positive effect on fecundity because eggs have a high lipid content and therefore provide fitness advantages (Beenakkers et al, 1985;Downer and Matthews, 1976;Lease and Wolf, 2011). Before oviposition, these females would have a higher fat content than after oviposition (Nestel et al, 2005). Insects collected from the wild seem to have a lower fat content than insects that are commercially produced (Finke, 2002(Finke, , 2013Oonincx and Dierenfeld, 2012;Yang et al, 2006).…”

Conserved metallomics in two insect families evolving separately for a hundred million years

“…The experiment with the Tephritid C. capitata could be repeated a number of times and showed a statistically significant drop in iron, copper and zinc but not manganese (although it should be noted that some other component in the B. oleae diet may be acting as a strong manganese chelator). Ceratitis capitata has been broadly used as a model for nutritional studies (Chang et al 2000; Nash and Chapman 2014; Nestel et al 2004, 2005; Papanastasiou et al 2013) and we suggest that it could also become a good model system to investigate hypotheses regarding the metabolism and nutrition of metals.…”

Effect of post‐teneral diets on the performance of sterileAnastrepha ludensandAnastrepha obliquafruit flies

“…2008). The reduced longevity of flies fed on the sugar only diet could be interpreted as malnutrition or depletion of reserves (Warburg and Yuval 1996; Nestel et al. 2005).…”