Data from: Nutritional geometry of paternal effects on embryo mortality

Well-established causal links exist between maternal nutritional deficits and embryo health and viability. In contrast, environmental effects operating through the father that could influence embryo mortality have seldom been examined. Yet, ejaculates can require nontrivial resource allocation, and seminal plasma components are increasingly recognized to exert wide-ranging effects on females and offspring, so paternal dietary effects on the embryo should be expected. We test for effects of varying levels of protein (P), carbohydrate (C), and caloric load in adult male diet on embryo mortality in Drosophila melanogaster. We demonstrate that macronutrient balance and caloric restriction exert significant effects, and that nutritional effects are more impactful when a prior mating has occurred. Once-mated males produced embryos with marginally elevated mortality under high-caloric densities and a 1:8 P:C ratio. In contrast, embryos produced by twice-mated males were significantly more likely to die under male caloric restriction, an outcome that may have resulted from shifts in ejaculate quality and/or epigenetic paternal effects. Body nutrient reserves were strongly and predictably altered by diet, and body condition, in turn, was negatively related to embryo mortality. Thus, sire nutritional history and resultant shifts in metabolic state predict embryo viability and post-fertilization fitness outcomes.母体营养不足与胚胎健康及生存能力之间已被证实存在明确的因果关联。与之相反，通过父方发挥作用、可影响胚胎死亡率的环境效应却极少得到研究。然而，射精过程需要可观的资源投入，且精浆成分对雌性及后代产生广泛影响的观点已日益得到学界认可，因此父方饮食对胚胎的影响理应受到关注。本研究针对成年雄性黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）饮食中不同水平的蛋白质（P）、碳水化合物（C）及热量负荷对胚胎死亡率的影响展开测试。研究证实，宏量营养素平衡与热量限制均会产生显著效应；且当雄性此前已发生交配行为时，饮食的营养效应会更为显著。已交配过一次的雄性所产生的胚胎，在高热量密度且P:C比为1:8的条件下死亡率略有升高。与之相反，已交配过两次的雄性所产生的胚胎，在雄性处于热量限制条件时死亡率显著升高，这一结果可能源于射精质量的变化或表观遗传父方效应。机体营养储备会因饮食结构发生显著且可预测的变化，而机体健康状况反过来又与胚胎死亡率呈负相关。因此，父本的营养史及其导致的代谢状态变化，可预测胚胎生存能力与受精后的适合度结局。