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Pontzer H, McGrosky A. Balancing growth, reproduction, maintenance, and activity in evolved energy economies. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R709-R719. [PMID: 35728556 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Economic models predominate in life history research, which investigates the allocation of an organism's resources to growth, reproduction, and maintenance. These approaches typically employ a heuristic Y model of resource allocation, which predicts trade-offs among tasks within a fixed budget. The common currency among tasks is not always specified, but most models imply that metabolic energy, either from food or body stores, is the critical resource. Here, we review the evidence for metabolic energy as the common currency of growth, reproduction, and maintenance, focusing on studies in humans and other vertebrates. We then discuss the flow of energy to competing physiological tasks (physical activity, maintenance, and reproduction or growth) and its effect on life history traits. We propose a Ψ model of energy flow to these tasks, which provides an integrative framework for examining the influence of environmental factors and the expansion and contraction of energy budgets in the evolution of life history strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
| | - Amanda McGrosky
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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3
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Wu Y, Hu S, Yang D, Li L, Li B, Wang L, Li M, Wang G, Li J, Xu Y, Zhang X, Niu C, Speakman JR. Increased Variation in Body Weight and Food Intake Is Related to Increased Dietary Fat but Not Increased Carbohydrate or Protein in Mice. Front Nutr 2022; 9:835536. [PMID: 35360679 PMCID: PMC8963818 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.835536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
A variety of inbred mouse strains have been used for research in metabolic disorders. Despite being inbred, they display large inter-individual variability for many traits like food intake and body weight. However, the relationship between dietary macronutrients and inter-individual variation in body weight and food intake of different mouse strains is still unclear. We investigated the association between macronutrient content of the diet and variations in food intake, body composition, and glucose tolerance by exposing five different mouse strains (C57BL/6, BALB/c, C3H, DBA/2, and FVB) to 24 different diets with variable protein, fat, and carbohydrate contents. We found only increasing dietary fat, but not protein or carbohydrate had a significant association (positive) with variation in both food intake and body weight. The highest variation in both body weight and food intake occurred with 50% dietary fat. However, there were no significant relationships between the variation in fat and lean mass with dietary protein, fat, or carbohydrate levels. In addition, none of the dietary macronutrients had significant impacts on the variation in glucose tolerance ability in C57BL/6 mice. In conclusion, the variations in food intake and body weight changes increased with the elevation of dietary fat levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingga Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Sumei Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, Beijing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Food Additives, National Soybean Processing Industry Technology Innovation Center, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
| | - Dengbao Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Li Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Baoguo Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Min Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Metabolic Health, Center for Energy Metabolism and Reproduction, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Guanlin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | | | - Yanchao Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xueying Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Metabolic Health, Center for Energy Metabolism and Reproduction, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Chaoqun Niu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Metabolic Health, Center for Energy Metabolism and Reproduction, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - John R. Speakman
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Metabolic Health, Center for Energy Metabolism and Reproduction, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
- CAS Center of Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Kunming, China
- *Correspondence: John R. Speakman
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4
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Li M, Speakman JR. Setting Ambient Temperature Conditions to Optimize Translation of Molecular Work from the Mouse to Human: The "Goldilocks Solution". Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2448:235-250. [PMID: 35167101 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2087-8_15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Temperature has a profound effect on many aspects of murine physiology. This raises the question of the best temperature at which mice should be housed to maximize the translational potential to humans. The temperatures at which mice have been routinely kept for studies of molecular physiology (20-21 °C) maximize the comfort of animal handling staff. There is a widespread movement suggesting we should perform experiments instead on mice housed at 30 °C. This often produces very different outcomes. Here we analyze the basis of this suggestion and show that while 20-21 °C is too cold, 30 °C is probably too hot. Rather we suggest an intermediate temperature "the Goldilocks solution" of 25-26 °C is probably optimal. This should be combined with providing animals with nesting material so that they can construct nests to generate microclimates that are within their own control. Providing copious nesting material has additional spin-off advantages in terms of increasing environmental enrichment. Ultimately, however, advocating a single temperature to mimic human physiology is plagued by the problem that humans vary widely in the temperature environments they experience, with consequences for human disease. Hence studying responses at a range of temperatures may provide the greatest insights and translational potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Li
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Metabolic Health, Center for Energy Metabolism and Reproduction, Shenzhen, Institutes of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen, China
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
| | - John R Speakman
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Metabolic Health, Center for Energy Metabolism and Reproduction, Shenzhen, Institutes of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
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