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、糖尿病及其他相关并发症发病率上升。然而，阐明基因、营养环境及其交互作用对不同性别个体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（nutritional geometry）与数量遗传学（quantitative genetics）相结合，针对喂食4种蛋白质与碳水化合物比例及总营养含量各异的日粮配对（diet pairs, DPs）之一的雄性与雌性黑田蟋蟀（Teleogryllus commodus），解析了基因、营养环境及其交互作用对其总营养偏好（total nutritional preference, TP）、总摄食量（total diet eaten, TE）与脂质总量（lipid mass, LM）的影响。研究发现，在两种性别以及全部4种DP下，TP、TE与LM均存在丰富的加性遗传变异；雄性个体中，TE与TP以及TP与LM之间存在显著的遗传相关。此外，各性状均存在显著的基因型-日粮互作与基因型-性别-日粮互作，TE与LM还存在显著的基因型-性别互作。由此可见，基因、性别与营养环境之间的复杂交互作用，在黑田蟋蟀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。