DOI: 10.5061/dryad.98sf7m0wz
title: Mitonuclear interactions and early-life diet shape adult nutritional behaviour

description: Mitochondrial function relies on close coordination between the
 mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Disruption to this coordination—via
 mitonuclear mismatch—can impair metabolic efficiency, particularly under
 energetically demanding conditions such as during development. The
 nutritional environment further modulates mitochondrial demands,
 suggesting that mitonuclear genotype and diet may interact to shape
 life-history traits and behaviour. Here, we investigate how early-life
 diet and mitonuclear genotype jointly influence development time, adult
 body size, and nutritional preference in Drosophila melanogaster. Using a
 full-factorial panel of putatively matched and mismatched combinations
 (cybrids) of mitonuclear genotype derived from natural Australian
 populations, we reared flies on diets varying in their ratio of
 macronutrients and assessed how this influenced larval development and
 subsequent adult diet preference. Developmental rate was significantly
 influenced by mitonuclear coevolution and diet, with cybrids showing
 delayed development under all conditions, with dietary extremes
 exacerbating this effect. Despite this, egg-to-adult viability remained
 unaffected. Adult nutritional behaviour exhibited clear genotype- and
 diet-dependent effects. Flies reared on high-protein diets increased
 carbohydrate intake as adults, while those reared on high-carbohydrate
 diets increased protein intake, suggesting compensatory feeding responses.
 Mitonuclear mismatch further modulated nutrient consumption, particularly
 in females, whose carbohydrate intake was influenced by intergenomic
 compatibility and early-life dietary conditions. Males’ protein
 consumption was also impacted by mitonuclear coevolution across all
 developmental diets. Finally, body size was also shaped by interactions
 between mitonuclear genotype and diet. Together, our findings demonstrate
 that mitonuclear compatibility and the composition of the early
 nutritional environment interact to shape developmental and behavioural
 phenotypes. These results support a role for mitonuclear coadaptation in
 mediating metabolic plasticity, highlighting the evolutionary and
 physiological significance of genotype-specific mitonuclear coordination.
description: # Mitonuclear interactions and early-life diet shape adult nutritional
 behaviour Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.98sf7m0wz](10.5061/dryad.98sf7m0wz)
 ## Description of the data and file structure Two experiments were run for
 this project. The first is a diet choice (dietchoice.csv) and the second
 is a diet preference assay (devtime.csv) ### Files and variables ####
 File: dietpref.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * block: unit of
 measure where the whole experiment was replicated  * sex: male or female
 fly * nuc: nuclear genome fly harboured * mito: mtDNA genotype of fly *
 diet: diet that flies were developed on (D = high carb, B = standard, A =
 high protein) * vial: vial number (within diet) that the flies developed
 in * totalp: total amount of protein consumed across 3 days of experiment
 - *unit of measurement: ul* * totalc: total amount of carbohydrate
 consumed across 3 days of experiment- *unit of measurement: ul* * weight:
 dry mass of the fly following the experiment - *unit of measurement: mg* *
 c-w: total amount of carbohydrate consumed / dry weight - *unit of
 measurement: ul/mg* * p-w: total amount of protein consumed / dry weight -
 *unit of measurement: ul/mg* * coev: coevolution status of the fly
 genotype. Genotypes "tT" and "mM" are coevolved,
 whereas the other two are disrupted. #### File: devtime.csv
 **Description:**  ##### Variables * diet: diet that flies were developed
 on (hc = high carb, st = standard, hp = high protein) * sex: male of
 female flies * strain: mitonuclear genotyoe of the fly * dev: development
 time - *unit of measurement: hours* * vial:vial flies were developed in
 (within each diet treatment) * \[empty column] * mito: mtDNA genotype of
 fly * nuc: nucelar genotype of the fly * coev: coevolvution
 status. Genotypes "tT" and "mM" are coevolved, whereas
 the other two are disrupted. ## Code/software All data analysis was
 performed on R. ## Access information Other publicly accessible locations
 of the data: * N/A Data was derived from the following sources: * N/A