Life history trade-offs in Drosophila: flies select a diet to maximize reproduction at the expense of lifespan.

Macronutrient intake impacts physiology, behavior, physiology and gene expression in a wide range of organisms. We used the response surface methodology to compare how life history traits, lifespan and reproduction differ as a function of protein and carbohydrate intakes under choice and no-choice feeding regimens in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. We found that when offered a choice of nutritionally complementary foods mated female flies regulated towards a protein to carbohydrate ratio (P:C) that was associated with shortened lifespan and maximal egg production when compared to response surfaces derived from flies fed one of a range of fixed diets differing in P:C (no-choice regimen). This difference in lifespan between choice and no-choice feeding was not seen in males or virgin flies, reflecting the fact that increased protein intake is triggered by mating to support egg production. However, whereas in mated females a higher P:C intake was associated with greater egg production under both choice and no-choice feeding, contrary to expectations, choice-fed mated flies laid fewer eggs than no-choice flies on equivalent macronutrient intakes, perhaps reflecting that they had to ingest twice the volume of food to attain an equivalent intake of nutrients than no-choice flies on diet of equivalent P:C ratio.