Divergence in proportional fat intake in AKR/J and SWR/J mice endures across diet paradigms

These experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that the contrasting patterns of macronutrient selection described previously in AKR/J (fat preference) and SWR/J (carbohydrate preference) mice are not dependent on a single diet paradigm. The effect of mouse strain on proportional fat intake was tested in naive mice by presenting two-choice diets possessing a variety of physical, sensory, and nutritive properties. In three separate experiments, AKR/J mice preferentially selected and consumed a higher proportion of energy from the high-fat diet than SWR/J mice. Specifically, this phenotypic difference was observed with 1) fat-protein vs. carbohydrate-protein diets, independent of fat type (vegetable shortening or lard), 2) isocaloric, high- vs. low-fat liquid diet preparations, and 3) high- vs. low-fat powdered-granular diets. These results confirm our previous observation of a higher proportional fat intake by AKR/J compared with SWR/J mice using the three-choice macronutrient selection diet and show that this strain difference generalizes across several diet paradigms. This strain difference is due largely to the robust and reliable fat preference of the AKR/J mice. In contrast, macronutrient preference in SWR/J mice varied across paradigms, suggesting a differential response by this strain to some orosensory or postingestive factor(s).