High-quality dietary protein (essential amino acids matched to reproductive needs) partially breaks the lifespan and reproduction trade-off in lubber grasshoppers.

Finding interventions to break the trade-off between reproduction and lifespan can provide insight into physiological limitations of animals. Effects of dietary protein quality on the trade-off are currently unclear, but clarity could lead to better designed diets that match animal needs. Dietary amino acid blends matching yolk proteins support reproduction and extend lifespan in fruit flies.

The effects of dietary amino acid balance on post-embryonic development in a lubber grasshopper.

Effects of dietary protein quality on insect development (not just growth) are unclear. Dietary amino acid blends matching yolk proteins support reproduction and juvenile development in Drosophila melanogaster. We matched amino acids to vitellogenin and tested development of juvenile male lubber grasshoppers, which do not produce vitellogenin.