Abstract
The DNA methylation program of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is carried out by the single DNA methyltransferase gene dDnmt2, the function of which is unknown before. We present evidence that intactness of the gene is required for maintenance of the normal life span of the fruit flies. In contrast, overexpression of dDnmt2 could extend Drosophila life span. The study links the Drosophila DNA methylation program with the small heatshock proteins and longevity/aging and has interesting implication on the eukaryotic DNA methylation programs in general.
Highlights
From the ‡Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Taiwan University, §Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan, Republic of China
We present evidence that intactness of the gene is required for maintenance of the normal life span of the fruit flies
We present evidence below that dDnmt2 is a regulator of the life span of Drosophila
Summary
From the ‡Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Taiwan University, §Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan, Republic of China. The other two dDnmt2-overexpressing lines had a longer life span as well (data not shown). The dDnmt2-overexpressing transgenic flies, when compared with the UAS control lines, showed an increase of 20% in the females and 15% in the males (data not shown).
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