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Updated: Apr 4, 2026
Measurement of Lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: January 7, 2013
Basic mechanisms of longevity: A case study of Drosophila pro-longevity genes
Ekaterina N Proshkina1, Mikhail V Shaposhnikov1, Asiya F Sadritdinova2
1Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia; Institute of Biology of Komi Science Center of Ural Branch of RAS, 167982 Syktyvkar, Russia.
Abstract:
Drosophila is one of the most convenient model organisms in the genetics of aging and longevity. Unlike the nematodes, which allow for the detection of new pro-aging genes by knockout and RNAi-mediated knock-down, Drosophila also provides an opportunity to find new pro-longevity genes by driver-induced overexpression. Similar studies on other models are extremely rare. In this review, we focused on genes whose overexpression prolongs the life of fruit flies. The majority of longevity-associated genes regulates metabolism and stress resistance, and belongs to the IGF-1R, PI3K, PKB, AMPK and TOR metabolic regulation cluster and the FOXO, HDAC, p53 stress response cluster.
