A1 Journal article (refereed)
Nutritional stress in larvae induces adaptive responses that transcend generations in males of a model insect (2025)


Davies, L. R., Kristensen, T. N., Sørensen, J. G., Loeschcke, V., & Schou, M. F. (2025). Nutritional stress in larvae induces adaptive responses that transcend generations in males of a model insect. Journal of Experimental Biology, 228(2), Article jeb247972. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.247972


JYU authors or editors


Publication details

All authors or editorsDavies, Lucy Rebecca; Kristensen, Torsten N.; Sørensen, Jesper G.; Loeschcke, Volker; Schou, Mads F.

Journal or seriesJournal of Experimental Biology

ISSN0022-0949

eISSN1477-9145

Publication year2025

Publication date15/01/2025

Volume228

Issue number2

Article number jeb247972

PublisherThe Company of Biologists

Publication countryUnited Kingdom

Publication languageEnglish

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.247972

Publication open accessOpenly available

Publication channel open accessPartially open access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX)https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/99612


Abstract

The ability of organisms to cope with poor quality nutrition is essential for their persistence. For species with a short generation time, the nutritional environments can transcend generations, making it beneficial for adults to prime their offspring to particular diets. However, our understanding of adaptive generational responses, including those to diet quality, are still very limited. Here, we used the vinegar fly, Drosophila melanogaster, to investigate whether females developing as larvae on a nutritionally poor diet produce offspring that are primed for nutrient deficiencies in the following generations. We found that females developed on low-quality diets produced offspring that, on similarly low-quality diets, had both increased egg-to-adult viability and starvation tolerance compared with offspring of females experiencing a nutrient-rich diet. When testing the persistence of such generational priming, we found that just one generation of high-quality diet is sufficient to erase the signal of priming. A global transcriptomic profile analysis on male offspring suggests that the observed phenotypic priming is not a constitutive transcriptomic adjustment of adults; instead, offspring are probably primed as larvae, enabling them to initiate an adaptive response as adults when exposed to low-quality diets. Our results support that generational priming is an important adaptive mechanism that enables organisms to cope with transient nutritional fluctuations.


Keywordsnutritionnutritional deficienciesdescendantsDrosophila melanogasterphenotypetranscriptomeevolution theoryevolutionary biology

Free keywordsmaternal effects; starvation; Drosophila; nutrition; variable environment


Contributing organizations


Ministry reportingYes

VIRTA submission year2025

Preliminary JUFO rating2


Last updated on 2025-08-02 at 20:05