The study investigated how macronutrient (protein and carbohydrate) intake targets change during ontogeny in the South American locust, Schistocerca cancellata. The key findings are:
Younger locust instars (1st to 4th) had protein-biased consumption, with the 3rd instar exhibiting the highest protein to carbohydrate (p:c) ratio of 1.37p:1c. In contrast, older juveniles and adults became carbohydrate-biased, selecting a p:c ratio of 1p:2.66c.
Mass-specific protein consumption rate decreased steadily through ontogeny, with a roughly four-fold decrease in adults compared to first instars. This decline in protein consumption correlated strongly with the decrease in specific growth rate during development.
Protein consumption rates scaled hypometrically with body mass, both during ontogeny and across diverse animal species. In contrast, carbohydrate consumption rates scaled closer to isometrically.
Field-collected locusts had 50-90% higher carbohydrate consumption rates compared to lab-reared locusts, likely due to higher activity levels and metabolic rates in the field. However, protein consumption rates did not differ between lab and field populations.
The results demonstrate that declining protein requirements during ontogeny, driven by decreasing growth rates, is a general pattern across animals. This provides a new paradigm for understanding nutritional ecology and the evolution of macronutrient intake strategies.
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by Talal,S., Ha... 於 www.biorxiv.org 06-24-2023
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.20.545784v1深入探究