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A general model for ontogenetic growth under food restriction
Chen Hou1, Kendra M Bolt, Aviv Bergman
1Department of Systems and Computational Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|February 25, 2011
Summary
Food restriction (FR) retards animal growth by altering metabolic energy allocation. A new model explains how FR influences growth curves, predicting faster growth and larger adult size despite lower metabolism.
Area of Science:
- Life-history theory
- Metabolic allometry
- Ontogenetic growth
Background:
- Food restriction (FR) is known to retard animal growth, but a comprehensive theoretical framework predicting its effects on energy budgets and life-history traits is lacking.
- Existing empirical data since the 1930s highlight the need for a predictive model to understand growth variations under FR.
- Understanding FR's impact is crucial for life-history theory, animal husbandry, and biomedicine.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a general quantitative model predicting animal growth curves under various food restriction scenarios.
- To provide a theoretical framework explaining the mechanisms by which FR affects energy budgets and life-history traits during ontogeny.
- To quantitatively explain counterintuitive phenomena associated with FR, such as accelerated growth and increased adult size.
Main Methods:
- Development of a quantitative model based on fundamental principles of metabolic energy allocation during animal development (ontogeny).
- The model incorporates variables such as the timing, degree, and duration of food restriction.
- Validation of model predictions against empirical data from diverse mammal and bird species.
Main Results:
- The model accurately predicts growth curves under different food restriction conditions, including compensatory growth.
- It provides a quantitative explanation for how reduced body temperature and metabolism under FR can paradoxically lead to faster growth and larger adult size.
- Predictions align with empirical observations that animals under FR reach similar fractions of adult mass at the same age as controls.
Conclusions:
- The developed model offers a robust theoretical framework for understanding the impact of food restriction on animal growth and life-history traits.
- It successfully explains counterintuitive growth responses to FR, supported by extensive empirical evidence.
- The model has implications for applied fields such as animal husbandry and biomedicine, as well as fundamental life-history theory.
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