Dietary restriction and aging in drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Dietary restriction (DR), the reduction of nutrient intake without causing malnutrition, is one environmental intervention that has been shown to extend the life span of a variety of organisms. Drosophila melanogaster is ideally suited for experiments into the biological effects of DR and aging due to its short life span and thorough characterization at the molecular and genetic level. Furthermore, the simple sugar/yeast diet (corresponding to carbohydrate and protein sources respectively) for Drosophila can be easily manipulated and is therefore amenable to experiments designed to determine the relative importance of the different food components (or caloric content) to life span. Although which aspect of nutrition is most important to fly longevity has not yet been determined, DR experiments have shown that many behaviors and functions, including cognition, olfaction and female fecundity, are influenced by the fly's nutritional status. Genetic studies have identified numerous signaling pathways, including the insulin-like signaling, target of rapamycin and sirtuin pathways, as potential mediators between DR and life span. Most of these pathways are evolutionarily conserved. Therefore, results from DR studies in Drosophila should help with the development of therapeutic interventions to slow the aging process in higher organisms, including humans.