Caloric restriction, fitness and health across generations

Interested individuals must follow Steps 1, 2 and 3 at this link on how to apply
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/biology/postgraduate/pgr/how-to-apply

A relationship between caloric intake and longevity in humans (indeed all animals) has long been suspected. More recently, it is becoming apparent that there is a relationship between the caloric intake of mothers, and the feeding rate and longevity of their offspring. In other words, there are maternal effects on health and longevity. This PhD project will probe this in a vey complete way by using a model invertebrate laboratory system. By using an invertebrate (the crustacean Daphnia) there is no limit to sample sizes and the sort of experiment that can be performed, and we can gain complete, multigenerational fitness data, which would simply not be achievable in a mammalian system. We will thus experimentally vary the food given to mothers, and then in offspring measure reproduction, longevity, senescence, and resistance to a naturally coevolving pathogen. We already know that maternal food affects the rate at which offspring feed, and their capacity to resist parasites, but we now need to gain a complete picture of the life-history traits and trade-offs that arise due to variation in nutrition across generations. In parallel, we will exploit recent advances in knowledge about the genes that underlie ageing. In particular, it has been observed that ageing mutations are found in genes those that control major metabolic pathways, and from this it has been hypothesised that, under caloric restriction, metabolic pathways signal a shut down reproduction in favour of maintenance (in the hope that reproduction will re-commence when the good times return), which enhances longevity. Through the use of radio-labelling, proteomic finger printing and fluxomics technology, alongside detailed fitness measurements, it will be possible to measure which tissues and gene pathways are favoured during the life-history changes that accompany resource variation.