Dietary restriction in Drosophila: delayed aging or experimental artefact?

Matthew D W Piper,Linda Partridge,Nicholas Katsanis

doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.0030057

Matthew D W Piper, Linda Partridge + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.0030057

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Journal: PLoS Genetics	Publication Date: Apr 1, 2007
Citations: 162	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University College London

Abstract

Lifespan can be extended by reduction of dietary intake. This practice is referred to as dietary restriction (DR), and extension of lifespan by DR is evolutionarily conserved in taxonomically diverse organisms including yeast, invertebrates, and mammals. Although these two often-stated facts carry the implication that the mechanisms of DR are also evolutionarily conserved, extension of lifespan could be a case of evolutionary convergence, with different underlying mechanisms in different taxa. Furthermore, extension of lifespan by different methods of DR in the same organism may operate through different mechanisms. These topics remain unresolved because of the very fact that the mechanisms of DR are unknown. Given these uncertainties, it is essential that work on the mechanisms of DR is not clouded by imprecise descriptions of methods or by technical problems. Here we review the recent literature on DR in Drosophila to point out some methodological issues that can obscure mechanistic interpretations. We also indicate some experiments that could be performed to determine if DR in Drosophila operates through similar mechanisms to the process in rodents.

Highlights

At the beginning of the 20th century, the first experiments studying the effects of environmental interventions on lifespan were undertaken using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster [1]
Despite many years of work, the mechanisms that underlie the effect of dietary restriction (DR) on lifespan remain unknown
Historically much of the work has been performed with rodents, large-scale lifespan experiments under many conditions and genetic analysis are better suited to shorterlived, and more housed, model organisms such as the invertebrates

Summary

Introduction

At the beginning of the 20th century, the first experiments studying the effects of environmental interventions on lifespan were undertaken using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster [1]. Despite the initial lack of success that Kopec [5] had with the intermittent feeding DR protocol in flies, it has since been shown that it is possible, with appropriate techniques, to extend the lifespan of many organisms, including Drosophila, by reducing food intake (see Table S1 for a summary of DR experiments with flies and the range of techniques implemented).

Results

Conclusion