Department of Biological Sciences, Cunningham Hall, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.
J Chem Ecol. 2020 Mar;46(3):299-307. doi: 10.1007/s10886-020-01161-x. Epub 2020 Feb 14.
Generalist insect herbivores may regulate nutrient balance in their diets, including the incorporation of carbohydrates as well as proteins. However, secondary metabolites, including tannins, are likely to interact with dietary protein:carbohydrate ratios in insect herbivores. We investigated the effects of protein:carbohydrate ratios, tannin, and the interaction between macronutrient ratios and tannin on the performance of the gypsy moth Lymantria dispar. We designed a 6 X 3 factorial experiment, with six protein:carbohydrate ratios and three tannin concentrations. We monitored the development time and size of gypsy moths on the different diets. We conducted 4th stadium feeding trials to measure consumption, digestibility, and overall efficiency of ingestion/digestion. Gypsy moths fed a diet containing a 1:1 protein:carbohydrate ratio without tannin grew larger and developed faster than those fed a 1:2 protein:carbohydrate ratio diet. Increasing protein in the diet above the 1:1 protein:carbohydrate ratio (i.e. 2:1 or 7:1) did not have a significant effect on gypsy moth growth or development. Approximate digestibility was greatest in treatments with a low protein:carbohydrate ratio (1:2). Gypsy moths grew faster and larger on no-tannin diets than those with tannin in the diet. However, the specific concentration of tannin did not affect growth. The resulting interaction between protein:carbohydrate ratio and tannin showed that there may be a trade-off between development time and efficiency of food assimilation. We also found that feeding gypsy moth larvae an optimal protein:carbohydrate ratios may be more important for tolerating tannin than the amount of protein ingested alone.
一般的昆虫食草动物可能会调节饮食中的营养平衡，包括碳水化合物和蛋白质的摄入。然而，次生代谢物，如单宁，可能会与昆虫食草动物的饮食中蛋白质与碳水化合物的比例相互作用。我们研究了蛋白质与碳水化合物的比例、单宁以及宏量营养素比例与单宁之间的相互作用对舞毒蛾的影响。我们设计了一个 6 x 3 的析因实验，有六个蛋白质与碳水化合物的比例和三个单宁浓度。我们监测了不同饮食下舞毒蛾的发育时间和大小。我们进行了第 4 阶段的喂养试验，以测量舞毒蛾的消耗量、消化率和摄入/消化的整体效率。在不含单宁的 1:1 蛋白质与碳水化合物比例的饮食中饲养的舞毒蛾比在 1:2 蛋白质与碳水化合物比例的饮食中饲养的舞毒蛾生长更大、发育更快。在 1:1 蛋白质与碳水化合物比例的饮食中增加蛋白质（即 2:1 或 7:1）对舞毒蛾的生长或发育没有显著影响。低蛋白质与碳水化合物比例（1:2）的处理中，近似消化率最高。在无单宁饮食中饲养的舞毒蛾比在饮食中含有单宁的舞毒蛾生长更快、更大。然而，单宁的具体浓度并不影响生长。蛋白质与碳水化合物比例和单宁之间的相互作用表明，在发育时间和食物同化效率之间可能存在权衡。我们还发现，为舞毒蛾幼虫提供最佳的蛋白质与碳水化合物比例可能比单独摄入蛋白质更重要，以耐受单宁。
