Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 8, 2026
07:13
A Rapid Food-Preference Assay in Drosophila
Published on: February 11, 2021
7.2K
Accelerated food source location in aging Drosophila.
Sada M Egenriether1, Eileen S Chow1, Nathalie Krauth1
1Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA.
Aging Cell
|June 24, 2015
Summary
Aging fruit flies surprisingly find food faster than young ones, driven by lower fat reserves and reduced insulin signaling. This challenges assumptions about age-related foraging decline.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Energy stores are vital for survival, regulated by neuroendocrine systems that promote foraging during nutrient deprivation.
- Aging impacts motor function, learning, and memory, but its effect on food-seeking behavior remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how aging affects food-finding behavior in Drosophila melanogaster.
- To compare olfactory-guided food location in young versus aged flies.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a food-filled trap to assess food location ability in young and old Drosophila melanogaster.
- Measured food-finding latency (FFL) and correlated it with metabolic status (fat reserves) and starvation resistance.
Main Results:
- Aged flies exhibited significantly shorter food-finding latency compared to young flies.
- Shorter FFL in old flies was associated with lower fat reserves and reduced starvation resistance.
- Manipulating insulin signaling (chico mutants, aged flies with increased signaling) affected FFL, suggesting its role in age-related foraging differences.
Conclusions:
- Aging in Drosophila melanogaster leads to enhanced, not diminished, food-finding behavior.
- Age-dependent metabolic status, particularly reduced insulin signaling, appears to mediate faster food location in older flies.
- This finding contrasts with expectations based on age-related cognitive and motor declines.
