The neuroendocrine regulation of Drosophila aging

The rate of aging is regulated by hormones in insects and, most likely, in mammals. Mutations of the insulin-signaling pathway extend lifespan in the fruit fly and influence the level of other hormones, specifically juvenile hormone and the sterol ecdysone, each of which may directly influence senescence. With new genetic and genomic tools in Drosophila biology we are now exploring how the neuroendocrine system responds to environmental conditions to modify insulin action, how these signals control secondary hormones, and how these messages together modulate animal aging.