TY - JOUR
T1 - Gonadal transcriptome alterations in response to dietary energy intake
T2 - Sensing the reproductive environment
AU - Martin, Bronwen
AU - Pearson, Michele
AU - Brenneman, Randall
AU - Golden, Erin
AU - Wood, William
AU - Prabhu, Vinayakumar
AU - Becker, Kevin G.
AU - Mattson, Mark P.
AU - Maudsley, Stuart
PY - 2009/1/7
Y1 - 2009/1/7
N2 - Reproductive capacity and nutrional input are tightly linked and animals' specific responses to alterations in their physical environment and food availability are crucial to ensuring sustainability of that species. We have assessed how alterations in dietary energy intake (both reductions and excess), as well as in food availabity, via intermittent fasting (IF), affect the gonadal transcriptome of both male and female rats. Starting at four months of age, male and female rats were subjected to a 20% or 40% caloric restriction (CR) dietary regime, every other day feeding (IF) or a high fat-high glucose (HFG) diet for six months. The transcriptional activity of the gonadal response to these variations in dietary energy intake was assessed at the individual gene level as well as at the parametric functional level. At the individual gene level, the females showed a higher degree of coherency in gonadal gene alterations to CR than the males. The gonadal transcriptional and hormonal response to IF was also significantly different between the male and female rats. The number of genes significantly regulated by IF in male animals was almost 5 times greater than in the females. These IF males also showed the highest testosterone to estrogen ratio in their plasma. Our data show that at the level of gonadal gene responses, the male rats on the IF regime adapt to their environment in a manner that is expected to increase the probability of eventual fertilization of females that the males predict are likely to be sub-fertile due to their perception of a food deficient environment.
AB - Reproductive capacity and nutrional input are tightly linked and animals' specific responses to alterations in their physical environment and food availability are crucial to ensuring sustainability of that species. We have assessed how alterations in dietary energy intake (both reductions and excess), as well as in food availabity, via intermittent fasting (IF), affect the gonadal transcriptome of both male and female rats. Starting at four months of age, male and female rats were subjected to a 20% or 40% caloric restriction (CR) dietary regime, every other day feeding (IF) or a high fat-high glucose (HFG) diet for six months. The transcriptional activity of the gonadal response to these variations in dietary energy intake was assessed at the individual gene level as well as at the parametric functional level. At the individual gene level, the females showed a higher degree of coherency in gonadal gene alterations to CR than the males. The gonadal transcriptional and hormonal response to IF was also significantly different between the male and female rats. The number of genes significantly regulated by IF in male animals was almost 5 times greater than in the females. These IF males also showed the highest testosterone to estrogen ratio in their plasma. Our data show that at the level of gonadal gene responses, the male rats on the IF regime adapt to their environment in a manner that is expected to increase the probability of eventual fertilization of females that the males predict are likely to be sub-fertile due to their perception of a food deficient environment.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0004146
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0004146
M3 - Article
C2 - 19127293
AN - SCOPUS:58349098430
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 4
JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
IS - 1
M1 - e4146
ER -