Data from: Sex-specific effects of dietary restriction on physiological variables in Japanese quails

Nutritional limitation is a common phenomenon in nature that leads to
trade-offs among processes competing for limited resources. These
trade-offs are mediated by changes in physiological traits such as growth
factors and circulating lipids. However, studies addressing the
sex-specific effect of nutritional deficiency on these physiological
variables are limited in birds. We used dietary restriction to mimic the
depletion of resources to various degrees and investigated sex-specific
effects on circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and
triglycerides in Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica) subjected to ad
libitum, 20%, 30% or 40% restriction of their daily requirement, for two
weeks. We also explored the association of both physiological variables
with body mass and egg production. While dietary restriction showed no
effects on circulating IGF-1, this hormone exhibited a marked sexual
difference, with females having 64.7% higher IGF-1 levels than males.
Dietary restriction significantly reduced plasma triglyceride levels in
both sexes. Females showed more than six-fold higher triglyceride levels
than males. Triglyceride levels were positively associated with body mass
in females while showed not association in males. Overall, our findings
revealed sex-specific expression of physiological variables under dietary
restriction conditions, which coincide with body size.