Hypergravity and ageing in Drosophila melanogaster. 3. Viability

The viability of Drosophila melanogaster was measured in three conditions: (1) of eggs from parents living at different gravity levels (1-5 g), developed at 1 g; (2) of eggs from parents living at 1 g, developed at different gravity levels, and (3) of eggs developed at the gravity at which their parents were kept. Hypergravity (HG) decreased viability to a low extent in all three cases (75% of emergence in the worst case). The effects of keeping parent flies in HG and of growing their offspring in HG were not cumulative. The results are discussed in relation with Pearl's rate of living theory.