Sugar-rich larval diet promotes lower adult pathogen load and higher survival after infection in a polyphagous fly.

ABSTRACT: Nutrition is a central factor influencing immunity and resistance to infection, but the extent to which nutrition during development affects adult responses to infections is poorly understood. Our study investigated how the nutritional composition of the larval diet affects the survival, pathogen load and food intake of adult fruit flies, Bactrocera tryoni, after septic bacterial infection. We found a sex-specific effect of larval diet composition on survival post-infection: survival rate was higher and bacterial load was lower for infected females raised on a sugar-rich larval diet than for females raised on a protein-rich larval diet, an effect that was absent in males. Both males and females were heavier when fed a balanced larval diet compared with a protein- or sugar-rich diet, while

SUBMITTER: Dinh H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9482150 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature