Thermodynamics of aging in Drosophila melanogaster

The data on mortality kinetics and decline in functions reported in the preceding article are used to calculate temperature coefficients for the aging process(es) in Drosophila. Different values are found, according to the model chosen to account for the mortality kinetics. The respective implications of three equally suitable models are discussed. Thus, organization parameters on two different levels can be identified: rates of changes assumed to occur at the elementary molecular level, and redundancy factors at a more integrated level. Their temperature coefficients are compared with those of protein denaturations and lipid peroxidation pigment accumulation. It is suggested that elementary molecular processes responsible for aging can indeed be protein denaturations, whereas the known lipid peroxidation pigment accumulation is more likely to be a secondary effect, resulting from a failure of the overall cellular organization at a more integrated, supramolecular, level.