Abstract
In reductionist cytogerontology, the benefits of caloric restriction for longevity are usually attributed to such molecular phenomena as reduced free-radical production and the like. But the analysis of J.P. Phelan and S. Austad suggests that the costs of reproduction are more likely physiological mechanisms behind the benefits of caloric restriction. A.K. Chippindale and colleagues provided a study of dietary restriction in Drosophila that focused on populations that had evolved different patterns of aging, using tools and ideas from evolutionary physiology. They found that dietary restriction caused a substantial drop in female reproduction along with a considerable increase in starvation resistance. Given the positive relationship between the evolution of enhanced stress resistance and longevity in the evolution of these Drosophila, as well as the trade-off between early reproduction and longevity, they concluded that the benefits of dietary restriction were at least partly mediated by the same physiological machinery that underpinned the evolution of aging.
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