Drosophila Flies in the Face of Aging

Tower, John

doi:10.1093/gerona/glz159

Cited by 7 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The vinegar fly D. melanogaster is, arguably, the most widely reared fly species that has been the vehicle of paramount scientific discoveries, starting with the experimental work of Thomas Hunt Morgan, who established the chromosomal theory of heredity winning the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1933 [ 145 , 146 , 147 ]. Other brilliant scientists, including Hermann Muller; George Beadle and Edward Tatum; Max Delbrück, Alfred Hershey and Salvador Luria; Edward B. Lewis, Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Eric F. Wieschaus; Richard Axel and Linda Buck; Bruce A. Beutler, Jules A. Hoffmann and Ralph M. Steinman; and Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young also won the Nobel prize for their discoveries in the fields of X-ray mutations, gene activity, replication and structure of viruses, development, olfaction, immunity and circadian rhythms, respectively, conducting research entirely or in part with laboratory-reared D. melanogaster [ 147 ]. The contribution of laboratory-reared D. melanogaster to the development of biology has been so important that it has been said that this fly species has a symbiotic relationship with humans, in which “food and habitat is traded for biological insights of remarkable breadth” [ 148 ].…”

Section: Laboratory-reared Drosophila Melanogaster ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

How Rearing Systems for Various Species of Flies Benefit Humanity

Pascacio-Villafán

Cohen

2023

Insects

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Flies (Diptera) have played a prominent role in human history, and several fly species are reared at different scales and for different beneficial purposes worldwide. Here, we review the historical importance of fly rearing as a foundation for insect rearing science and technology and synthesize information on the uses and rearing diets of more than 50 fly species in the families Asilidae, Calliphoridae, Coelopidae, Drosophilidae, Ephydridae, Muscidae, Sarcophagidae, Stratiomyidae, Syrphidae, Tachinidae, Tephritidae, and Tipulidae. We report more than 10 uses and applications of reared flies to the well-being and progress of humanity. We focus on the fields of animal feed and human food products, pest control and pollination services, medical wound therapy treatments, criminal investigations, and on the development of several branches of biology using flies as model organisms. We highlight the relevance of laboratory-reared Drosophila melanogaster Meigen as a vehicle of great scientific discoveries that have shaped our understanding of many biological systems, including the genetic basis of heredity and of terrible diseases such as cancer. We point out key areas of fly-rearing research such as nutrition, physiology, anatomy/morphology, genetics, genetic pest management, cryopreservation, and ecology. We conclude that fly rearing is an activity with great benefits for human well-being and should be promoted for future advancement in diverse and innovative methods of improving existing and emerging problems to humanity.

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Section: Laboratory-reared Drosophila Melanogaster ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

How Rearing Systems for Various Species of Flies Benefit Humanity

Pascacio-Villafán

Cohen

2023

Insects

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“…Current studies suggest that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are involved in organismal ageing (Kim and Lee, 2019;Tower, 2019). With the development of sequencing technology, dynamic changes in the transcriptome [including changes in mRNA, long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), microRNA (miRNA), and circular RNA (circRNA) (Yang et al, 2016;Perry et al, 2017;Barter et al, 2019;Kinser and Pincus, 2020); the proteome (Brown et al, 2018); and the metabolome (Song et al, 2017)] have been described in the context of Drosophila ageing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-related ceRNA networks in adult Drosophila ageing

Yang

Xiao²,

Li³

et al. 2023

Front. Genet.

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As Drosophila is an extensively used genetic model system, understanding of its regulatory networks has great significance in revealing the genetic mechanisms of ageing and human diseases. Competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA)-mediated regulation is an important mechanism by which circular RNAs (circRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate ageing and age-related diseases. However, extensive analyses of the multiomics (circRNA/miRNA/mRNA and lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA) characteristics of adult Drosophila during ageing have not been reported. Here, differentially expressed circRNAs and microRNAs (miRNAs) between 7 and 42-day-old flies were screened and identified. Then, the differentially expressed mRNAs, circRNAs, miRNAs, and lncRNAs between the 7- and 42-day old flies were analysed to identify age-related circRNA/miRNA/mRNA and lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA networks in ageing Drosophila. Several key ceRNA networks were identified, such as the dme_circ_0009500/dme_miR-289-5p/CG31064, dme_circ_0009500/dme_miR-289-5p/frizzled, dme_circ_0009500/dme_miR-985-3p/Abl, and XLOC_027736/dme_miR-985-3p/Abl XLOC_189909/dme_miR-985-3p/Abl networks. Furthermore, real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to verify the expression level of those genes. Those results suggest that the discovery of these ceRNA networks in ageing adult Drosophila provide new information for research on human ageing and age-related diseases.

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“…In 2021, the top 10 causes of death in United States of America were #1 heart disease, #2 cancer, #3 COVID-19, #4 unintentional injuries, #5 stroke, #6 lung disease, #7 Alzheimer disease (AD), #8 diabetes, #9 liver disease, and #10 kidney disease ( Xu et al, 2022 ), and each of these causes has age as a major risk factor. Drosophila melanogaster is a major research organism for study of aging, due to its short life span and tractable genetics and molecular biology ( Tower, 2019 ; Clancy et al, 2022 ). Recent studies provide insight into markers and mechanisms of death in Drosophila , and their potential similarities, or lack thereof, to causes of death in humans.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Markers and mechanisms of death in Drosophila

Tower

2023

Front. Aging

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Parameters correlated with age and mortality in Drosophila melanogaster include decreased negative geotaxis and centrophobism behaviors, decreased climbing and walking speed, and darkened pigments in oenocytes and eye. Cessation of egg laying predicts death within approximately 5 days. Endogenous green fluorescence in eye and body increases hours prior to death. Many flies exhibit erratic movement hours before death, often leading to falls. Loss of intestinal barrier integrity (IBI) is assayed by feeding blue dye (“Smurf” phenotype), and Smurf flies typically die within 0–48 h. Some studies report most flies exhibit Smurf, whereas multiple groups report most flies die without exhibiting Smurf. Transgenic reporters containing heat shock gene promoters and innate immune response gene promoters progressively increase expression with age, and partly predict remaining life span. Innate immune reporters increase with age in every fly, prior to any Smurf phenotype, in presence or absence of antibiotics. Many flies die on their side or supine (on their back) position. The data suggest three mechanisms for death of Drosophila. One is loss of IBI, as revealed by Smurf assay. The second is nervous system malfunction, leading to erratic behavior, locomotor malfunction, and falls. The aged fly is often unable to right itself after a fall to a side-ways or supine position, leading to inability to access the food and subsequent dehydration/starvation. Finally, some flies die upright without Smurf phenotype, suggesting a possible third mechanism. The frequency of these mechanisms varies between strains and culture conditions, which may affect efficacy of life span interventions.

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Drosophila Flies in the Face of Aging

Cited by 7 publications

References 34 publications

How Rearing Systems for Various Species of Flies Benefit Humanity

How Rearing Systems for Various Species of Flies Benefit Humanity

Age-related ceRNA networks in adult Drosophila ageing

Markers and mechanisms of death in Drosophila

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