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A high-lipid diet leads to greater pathology and lower tolerance during infection

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Perrine, Weston G., Sauer, Erin L., Love, Ashley C., Morris, Ashley, Novotny, Johnathan, DuRant, Sarah E.·2025·Journal of Experimental Biology
DOI 10.1242/jeb.249541PMC PMC11925396

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Abstract

Altered food landscapes contribute importantly to wildlife disease dynamics and may play a critical role in host heterogeneity in disease outcomes through changes in host diet composition. We explored the effects of dietary macronutrient composition on disease pathology and feeding behavior of canaries (Serinus canaria domestica) infected with Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG). In the first experiment, we provided canaries with isocaloric diets composed of identical ingredients that varied in macronutrient content (high protein or high lipid) then MG- or sham-inoculated birds. In the second experiment, we offered both diets to canaries before and after MG or sham inoculation. In experiment one, high-protein diet birds consumed more food than high-lipid diet birds and experienced a more pronounced decrease in food intake after infection. High-protein diet birds were more tolerant to MG infection, exhibiting reduced pathology when compared with high-lipid diet birds, despite the two treatments having similar levels of MG-specific antibodies and MG loads. When birds had access to both diets, they consumed more of the high-protein diet and experienced pathology for less time than lipid- or protein-restricted birds. These results highlight that macronutrient makeup of the diet can shape vertebrate host tolerance and pathology, which has direct implications for host–pathogen transmission dynamics.

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Fig. 1. Experiment 1: disease pathology and feeding behavior of female canaries (Serinus canaria domestica) fed a high-protein or high-lipid isocaloric diet and later inoculated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum or control solution. Birds received either high-protein (1:4 lipid:protein) or high-lipid (4:1 lipid:protein) diet bars and were inoculated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) or Frey's media (control) 17 days later. The day of inoculation was termed day 0 and endpoints were monitored for 4 weeks after MG inoculation. Birds remained on the diet for the duration of the experiment. (A) Weekly food intake, (B) furcular fat scores, (C) percentage hematocrit, (D) Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG)-specific antibody production (optical density, OD), (E) conjunctival swelling, represented by a score of swelling severity, and (F) log10-transformed MG pathogen load. Only MG-infected birds are depicted in panels related to disease outcome (antibody production, eye swelling and pathogen load; D–F). Lipid control, n=13; lipid MG, n=9; protein control, n=10; protein MG, n=10. Points represent raw data with smoothed (A,B,D–F) or linear (C) average trend lines of the raw data surrounded by 95% confidence interval bands in gray.
Fig. 1. Experiment 1: disease pathology and feeding behavior of female canaries (Serinus canaria domestica) fed a high-protein or high-lipid isocaloric diet and later inoculated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum or control solution. Birds received either high-protein (1:4 lipid:protein) or high-lipid (4:1 lipid:protein) diet bars and were inoculated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) or Frey's media (control) 17 days later. The day of inoculation was termed day 0 and endpoints were monitored for 4 weeks after MG inoculation. Birds remained on the diet for the duration of the experiment. (A) Weekly food intake, (B) furcular fat scores, (C) percentage hematocrit, (D) Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG)-specific antibody production (optical density, OD), (E) conjunctival swelling, represented by a score of swelling severity, and (F) log10-transformed MG pathogen load. Only MG-infected birds are depicted in panels related to disease outcome (antibody production, eye swelling and pathogen load; D–F). Lipid control, n=13; lipid MG, n=9; protein control, n=10; protein MG, n=10. Points represent raw data with smoothed (A,B,D–F) or linear (C) average trend lines of the raw data surrounded by 95% confidence interval bands in gray.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 2. Experiment 2: feeding behavior of male and female canaries provided with both the high-lipid and high-protein diet bars and later inoculated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum or control solution. Birds were provided with two isocaloric diet bars, one that was high in protein (1:4 lipid:protein) and one that was high in lipid (4:1 lipid:protein), and were inoculated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) or Frey's media (control) 17 days later. The day of inoculation was termed day 0 and endpoints were monitored for 4 weeks after inoculation. (A) Weekly total food intake, (B) consumption of the high-protein bar and (C) consumption of the high-lipid diet bar. Controls: n=6 females, n=6 males; MG infected: n=6 females, n=7 males. Points represent raw data with smoothed average trend lines of the raw data surrounded by 95% confidence interval bands in gray.
Fig. 2. Experiment 2: feeding behavior of male and female canaries provided with both the high-lipid and high-protein diet bars and later inoculated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum or control solution. Birds were provided with two isocaloric diet bars, one that was high in protein (1:4 lipid:protein) and one that was high in lipid (4:1 lipid:protein), and were inoculated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) or Frey's media (control) 17 days later. The day of inoculation was termed day 0 and endpoints were monitored for 4 weeks after inoculation. (A) Weekly total food intake, (B) consumption of the high-protein bar and (C) consumption of the high-lipid diet bar. Controls: n=6 females, n=6 males; MG infected: n=6 females, n=7 males. Points represent raw data with smoothed average trend lines of the raw data surrounded by 95% confidence interval bands in gray.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 3. Experiment 2: disease pathology of male and female canaries provided with both the high-lipid and high-protein diet bars and later inoculated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum or control solution. Birds were treated as in Fig. 2. (A) Furcular fat stores, (B) body mass, (C) percentage hematocrit and (D) and conjunctival swelling, represented by a score of swelling severity. Only MG-infected birds are depicted in the panel related to disease outcome (eye swelling; D). Controls: n=6 females, n=6 males; MG-infected canaries: n=6 females, n=7 males. Points represent raw data with smoothed (A,B,D) or linear (C) average trend lines of the raw data surrounded by 95% confidence interval bands in gray.
Fig. 3. Experiment 2: disease pathology of male and female canaries provided with both the high-lipid and high-protein diet bars and later inoculated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum or control solution. Birds were treated as in Fig. 2. (A) Furcular fat stores, (B) body mass, (C) percentage hematocrit and (D) and conjunctival swelling, represented by a score of swelling severity. Only MG-infected birds are depicted in the panel related to disease outcome (eye swelling; D). Controls: n=6 females, n=6 males; MG-infected canaries: n=6 females, n=7 males. Points represent raw data with smoothed (A,B,D) or linear (C) average trend lines of the raw data surrounded by 95% confidence interval bands in gray.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 4. Experiment 2: antibody levels and pathogen load of male and female canaries provided with both the high-lipid and high-protein diet bars and later inoculated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum or control solution. Birds were treated as in Fig. 2. There was a differential effect of sex on (A) MG-specific antibodies and (B) log10-transformed MG load over time in only the Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG)-exposed canaries. Points represent raw data with average trend lines surrounded by 95% confidence interval bands in gray.
Fig. 4. Experiment 2: antibody levels and pathogen load of male and female canaries provided with both the high-lipid and high-protein diet bars and later inoculated with Mycoplasma gallisepticum or control solution. Birds were treated as in Fig. 2. There was a differential effect of sex on (A) MG-specific antibodies and (B) log10-transformed MG load over time in only the Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG)-exposed canaries. Points represent raw data with average trend lines surrounded by 95% confidence interval bands in gray.CC BY · PubMed Central

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Metadata

Authors
Perrine, W. G., Sauer, E. L., Love, A. C., Morris, A., Novotny, J., & DuRant, S. E.
Affiliations
  • University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (US)
  • University of Arkansas 1 Department of Biological Sciences , , Fayetteville, AR 72701 ,
Corresponding author
DuRant, Sarah E.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Experimental Biology
Publisher
The Company of Biologists
Published
2025-03-01
Volume
228
Issue
5
ISSN
  • 0022-0949 (ISSN-L)
  • 1477-9145
DOI
10.1242/jeb.249541
PMC
PMC11925396
OpenAlex
W4407039604
Cited by
6
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 4
FWCI
3.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Experimental Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (1941861)
  • Arkansas Biosciences Institute
  • University of Arkansas
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Microbial infections and disease research
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Parasitology › Bird parasitology and diseases
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
Keywords
Mycoplasma gallisepticum, canaries, high-fat diet, macronutrient composition, host tolerance, disease pathology, feeding behavior, dietary intake, wildlife disease, diet and immunity
MeSH terms
Animals, Animal Feed, Bird Diseases, Canaries, Diet, Dietary Fats, Feeding Behavior, Female, Male, Mycoplasma Infections, Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Diet, High-Fat

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Perrine, W. G., Sauer, E. L., Love, A. C., Morris, A., Novotny, J., & DuRant, S. E. (2025). A high-lipid diet leads to greater pathology and lower tolerance during infection. Journal of Experimental Biology. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.249541