Elevated paraquat resistance can be used as a bioassay for longevity in a genetically based long‐lived strain of Drosophila
- 1 January 1991
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Developmental Genetics
- Vol. 12 (5), 362-370
- https://doi.org/10.1002/dvg.1020120505
Abstract
A long-lived (L) strain of Drosophila melanogaster, derived from a normal-lived (R) strain by artificial selection, has a significantly different adult longevity. Previous work has shown that (1) the two strains age in the same manner, (2) the major genes responsible for much of the L strain's extended longevity are located on the 3rd chromosome, and (3) the extended longevity phenotype is significantly modulated by the larval environment. In this report, we investigate the resistance of the L and R strains to the lethal effects of dietary paraquat. We show that, within the limitations of our described chromosomal and environmental manipulations, the extended longevity phenotype always accompanies the phenotype of elevated paraquat resistance. In addition, reversed selection applied to the L strain results in the simultaneous decrease of both life span and paraquat resistance. Thus, the presence or absence of the latter phenotype may be used as a bioassay for the presence or absence of the extended longevity phenotype, without any necessary implication of causality. Use of this bioassay should greatly speed up the genetic analysis of this system by allowing us to identify long-lived animals at a young age. Finally, we show that the age-related loss of elevated paraquat resistance in both strains precedes all the other age-related functional decrements which we have previously noted in this system.Keywords
This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- Genetic alteration of normal aging processes is responsible for extended longevity in DrosophilaDevelopmental Genetics, 1990
- Oral Administration of Estradiol to Young C57BL/6J Mice Induces Age-Like Neuroendocrine Dysfunctions in the Regulation of Estrous Cycles1Biology of Reproduction, 1989
- Localizing genes that defer senescence in Drosophila melanogasterHeredity, 1988
- Neural and Endocrine Approaches to the Resolution of Time as a Dependent Variable in the Aging Processes of MammalsThe Gerontologist, 1988
- Biomarkers of agingExperimental Gerontology, 1988
- Successful selection for increased longevity in Drosophila: Analysis of the survival data and presentation of a hypothesis on the genetic regulation of longevityExperimental Gerontology, 1987
- Growth rate and life span in Drosophila. I. Methods and mechanisms of variation of growth rateMechanisms of Ageing and Development, 1984
- Identical age-related patterns of enzyme activity changes in Phormia regina and Drosophila melanogasterExperimental Gerontology, 1975
- Influence of preimaginal environment on fecundity and ageing in Drosophila melanogaster hybrids—III. Developmental speed and life-spanExperimental Gerontology, 1971
- The Effects of Larval Crowding and Body Size on the Longevity of Adult Drosophila MelanogasterEcology, 1957