View Program - 2022 Population, Evolutionary, and Quantitative Genetics Conference

Differential resource allocation to major biological functions, including somatic maintenance, storage, and reproduction, directly impacts fitness by dictating individual survival and fecundity. Theory suggests that unpredictable resource availability should favor increased allocation to survival and decreased allocation to storage and reproduction under periods of calorie restriction. Conversely, lower allocation to survival and greater allocation to storage and reproduction should be favored under high-quality dietary regimes. Despite the occurrence of these patterns in some species, responses in other taxa are variable, and we lack a clear understanding of genetic, transcriptomic, and phenotypic changes associated with this plasticity. We used Evolve-and-Resequence (E&R) to assess coordinated changes over time underlying differentiation in resource allocation toward reproduction under three diet regimes in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. Starting with a multiparent base population derived from the Drosophila Synthetic Population Resource (DSPR), we set up three selection regimes: 1) constant high calorie availability, 2) deteriorating availability, and 3) fluctuating availability. At generation 0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 we performed genomic sequencing on pooled samples of females and measured haplotype frequencies, lifespan, and fecundity across this time series. We discuss preliminary results on genomic mechanisms for plasticity in resource allocation patterns in this population. Our study advances our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms underlying trade-offs in resource allocation.

A multivariate approach to understanding the genetic basis of reproductive resource allocation