Investigating The Effect Of Protein Quality And Its Molecular Sensors On Life-History Traits In Drosophila Melanogaster.

Life history traits are influenced what the organism eats. The ratio of dietary amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) or protein quality have shown to be important for influencing lifespan and reproduction, but the mechanism behind is understudied. I demonstrate that protein quality is important for fruit flies to reach peak reproduction. Furthermore, I examined the role of the understudied amino acid sensing kinase, Gcn2, and its effects on fitness in response to nutrition. Flies with non-functional Gcn2 gene had reduced egg lay and shortened lifespan, demonstrating that Gcn2 is important for modifying reproduction in response to protein levels.