Authors: Ja WW; Carvalho GB; Zid BM; Mak EM; Brummel T; Benzer S
Abstract: Dietary restriction (DR) is a widely conserved intervention leading to lifespan extension. Despite considerable effort, the mechanisms underlying DR remain poorly understood. In particular, it remains unclear whether DR prolongs life through conserved mechanisms in different species. Here, we show that, in the most common experimental conditions, lifespan extension by DR is abolished by providing Drosophila with ad libitum water, without altering food intake, indicating that DR, as conventionally studied in flies, is fundamentally different from the phenomenon studied in mammals. We characterize an alternative dietary paradigm that elicits robust lifespan extension irrespective of water availability, and thus likely represents a more relevant model for mammalian DR. Our results support the view that protein:carbohydrate ratio is the main dietary determinant of fly lifespan. These findings have broad implications for the study of lifespan and nutrition.
Keywords: Animals; *Caloric Restriction; Diet; Drinking Behavior/physiology; Drosophila melanogaster/*drug effects/*physiology; Feeding Behavior/physiology; Fertility; *Food; Longevity/*drug effects/*physiology; Water/*pharmacology|
Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Volume: 106 Issue: 44 Pages: 18633-7 Date: Oct. 21, 2009 PMID: 19841272 |
Ja WW, Carvalho GB, Zid BM, Mak EM, Brummel T, Benzer S (2009) Water- and nutrient-dependent effects of dietary restriction on Drosophila lifespan. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106: 18633-7.
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