SUMMARYDrosophila provides a useful model system for studies of the mechanisms involved in regulation of internal ion levels in response to variations in dietary salt load. This study assessed whether alterations in Na + and K + transport by the gut of larval D. melanogaster reared on salt-rich diets contribute to haemolymph ionoregulation. Na + and K + fluxes across the isolated guts of third instar larvae reared on control or salt-rich diets were measured using the scanning ion-selective electrode technique (SIET). K + absorption across the anterior portion of the posterior midgut of larvae reared on diet in which the concentration of KCl was increased 0.4moll -1 above that in the control diet was reduced eightfold relative to the same gut segment of larvae reared on the control diet. There was also an increase in the magnitude and extent of K + secretion across the posterior half of the posterior midgut. Na + was absorbed across the ileum of larvae reared on the control diet, but was secreted across the ileum of larvae reared on diet in which the concentration of NaCl was increased 0.4moll -1 above that in the control diet. There was also a small reduction in the extent of Na + absorption across the middle midgut of larvae reared on the NaCl-rich diet. The results indicate considerable phenotypic plasticity with respect to K + and Na + transport by the gut epithelia of larval D. melanogaster. SIET measurements of K + and Na + fluxes along the length of the gut show that ion transport mechanisms of the gut are reconfigured during salt stress so that there are reductions in K + and Na + absorption and increases in K + and Na + secretion. Together with previously described changes in salt secretion by the Malpighian tubules, these changes contribute to haemolymph ionoregulation.

The Oregon R strain of Drosophila melanogaster Meigen were raised on artificial diets and maintained at 21-23°C in laboratory culture. The control diet was prepared as described by Roberts and Stander (Roberts and Stander, 1998

Studying aging is constrained using vertebrates by their longevity, size, ethical restrictions, and expense. The key insect model, Drosophila melanogaster, is holometabolous. Larvae feed on yeast in moist media and adults sponge food. Most aging studies are restricted to adults. Another key model, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, feeds on bacteria in moist media. For either invertebrate refreshing test materials, preventing degradation and obtaining accurate dosing are difficult even with synthetic media. The cricket Acheta domesticus has a short lifespan (∼120 days at 30°C) and is omnivorous. Age-matched cohorts are easily obtained from eggs. The life cycle is hemimetabolous and nymphs eat the same foods as adults. Growth is easily monitored, gender can be differentiated before maturity, and maturation is indicated by wings and mature genitalia. Crickets can be reared in large numbers at low cost. Test materials can be mixed into food and ingestion rates or mass budgets easily assessed. Here, we validate the cricket as a model of aging by testing two fundamental methods of restricting food intake: time-restricted access to food and dietary dilution. Growth, maturation, survivorship, and longevity varied with treatments and genders. Intermittent feeding (which is ineffective in flies) significantly extended longevity of crickets. Dietary dilution also extended longevity via remarkable prolongation of the juvenile period.

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