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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Assessment of Chemical Toxicity in Adult Drosophila Melanogaster
Published on: March 24, 2023
Reproductive fitness and longevity in Drosophila melanogaster
E Le Bourg1, F A Lints, J Delince
1Centre de Recherche en Biologie du Comportement, U.A. C.N.R.S., Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
Abstract:
It has been suggested that senescence could have evolved by selection of genes with beneficial effects early in life and detrimental ones later in life (pleiotropy theory of the evolution of senescence). To test that theory, the egg production of 322 females of the Oregon strain of Drosophila melanogaster was recorded daily throughout their life. At the individual level, no relation could be detected between early components of fitness and longevity. For the time being it appears that there are no unequivocal reasons to accept the pleiotropy theory of the evolution of senescence.
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