Essential physiological differences characterize short- and long-lived strains of Drosophila melanogaster

Gubina, N. et al. (2019) Essential physiological differences characterize short- and long-lived strains of Drosophila melanogaster. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 74(12), pp. 1835-1843. (doi: 10.1093/gerona/gly143) (PMID:29945183)

Abstract

Aging is a multifactorial process which affects all animals. Aging as a result of damage accumulation is the most accepted explanation but the proximal causes remain to be elucidated. There is also evidence indicating that aging has an important genetic component. Animal species age at different rates and specific signaling pathways, such as insulin/insulin-like growth factor, can regulate life span of individuals within a species by reprogramming cells in response to environmental changes. Here, we use an unbiased approach to identify novel factors that regulate life span in Drosophila melanogaster. We compare the transcriptome and metabolome of two wild-type strains used widely in aging research: short-lived Dahomey and long-lived Oregon R flies. We found that Dahomey flies carry several traits associated with short-lived individuals and species such as increased lipoxidative stress, decreased mitochondrial gene expression, and increased Target of Rapamycin signaling. Dahomey flies also have upregulated octopamine signaling known to stimulate foraging behavior. Accordingly, we present evidence that increased foraging behavior, under laboratory conditions where nutrients are in excess increases damage generation and accelerates aging. In summary, we have identified several new pathways, which influence longevity highlighting the contribution and importance of the genetic component of aging.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by the European Research Council (260632 - ComplexIandAging to A.S.); the Academy of Finland (252048 to A.S); the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/M023311/1 to A.S.); the Centre for International Mobility (CIMO) (TM-12–8391 and TM13–8919 to N.G.); the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Institute of Health Carlos III (PI14/00328 to R.P. and PI17/01286 to P.N.); the Autonomous Government of Catalonia (2017SGR696 and SLT002/16/00250 to R.P.); the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (grant number 0117U006426 to O.L.); FEDER funds from the European Union (“A way to build Europe” to R.P.); and the Doctoral Programme in Medicine and Life Sciences of University of Tampere (to T.R). R.S is a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow funded by Wellcome (204715/Z/16/Z).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Sanz Montero, Professor Alberto
• Authors: Gubina, N., Naudi, A., Stefanatos, R., Jove, M., Scialo, F., Fernandez-Ayala, D. J., Rantapero, T., Yurkevych, I., Portero-Otin, M., Nykter, M., Lushchak, O., Navas, P., Pamplona, R., Sanz, A., and Anderson, R.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Molecular Biosciences
• Journal Name: Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• ISSN: 1079-5006
• ISSN (Online): 1758-535X
• Published Online: 26 June 2018
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journals of Gerontology: Series A 74:1835–1843
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy