Data from: Genotype-by-sex-by-diet interactions for nutritional preference, dietary consumption and lipid deposition in a field cricket

Changes in feeding behaviour, especially the over-consumption of calories, has led to a rise in the rates of obesity, diabetes and other associated disorders in humans and a range of animals inhabiting human-influenced environments. However, understanding the relative contribution of genes, the nutritional environment and their interaction to dietary intake and lipid deposition in the sexes still remains a major challenge. By combining nutritional geometry with quantitative genetics, we determined the effect of genes, the nutritional environment and their interaction on the total nutritional preference (TP), total diet eaten (TE) and lipid mass (LM) of male and female black field crickets (Teleogryllus commodus) fed one of four diet pairs (DPs) differing in the ratio of protein to carbohydrate and total nutritional content. We found abundant additive genetic variance for TP, TE and LM in both sexes and across all four DPs, with significant genetic correlations between TE and TP and between TP and LM in males. We also found significant genotype-by-DP and genotype-by-sex-by-DP interactions for each trait and significant genotype-by-sex interactions for TE and LM. Complex interactions between genes, sex and the nutritional environment, therefore, play an important role in nutrient regulation and lipid deposition in T. commodus. This finding may also help explain the increasing rate of obesity and the maintenance of sex differences in obesity observed across many animal species, including humans.

摄食行为的改变，尤其是热量过度摄入，已导致人类以及栖息于受人类活动影响环境中的多种动物的肥胖、糖尿病及其他相关病症发病率上升。然而，阐明基因、营养环境及其交互作用对两性膳食摄入与脂质沉积的相对贡献，仍是一项重大挑战。本研究将营养几何学与数量遗传学相结合，测定了饲喂四组蛋白与碳水化合物比例及总营养含量各异的日粮配对（diet pairs, DPs）中一组的雌雄黑田蟋蟀（Teleogryllus commodus）的总营养偏好（total nutritional preference, TP）、总摄食量（total diet eaten, TE）与脂质质量（lipid mass, LM）受基因、营养环境及其交互作用的影响。研究结果显示，在两性及四组DPs中，TP、TE与LM均存在丰富的加性遗传方差，且雄性个体中TE与TP、TP与LM之间存在显著的遗传相关。本研究同时发现，各性状均存在显著的基因型-日粮配对互作以及基因型-性别-日粮配对三重互作，且TE与LM存在显著的基因型-性别互作。因此，基因、性别与营养环境之间的复杂互作，在黑田蟋蟀（T. commodus）的营养调控与脂质沉积过程中发挥着重要作用。这一发现或有助于解释包括人类在内的诸多动物物种中肥胖发病率持续上升以及肥胖性别差异维持的现象。