Lipid metabolism in adaptation to extreme nutritional challenges

Food shortages represent a common challenge for most animal species. As a consequence, many have evolved metabolic strategies encompassing extreme starvation-resistance capabilities, going without food for months or even years. One such strategy is to store substantial levels of fat when food is available and release these energy-rich lipids during periods of dearth. In this review, we provide an overview of the strategies and pathways underlying the extreme capacity for animals to store and mobilize lipids during nutritionally stressful environmental conditions and highlight accompanying resilience phenotypes that allow these animals to develop and tolerate such profound metabolic phenotypes.