Microgravity effects on Drosophila melanogaster behavior and aging. Implications of the IML-2 experiment

Earlier Space experiments had indicated that young male Drosophila flies exposed to microgravity showed an acceleration in aging. In a 14.5-day Space Shuttle Flight we sent 300 young male flies with the purpose of confirming these findings and to establish whether changes in the behavior of the flies were responsible for the effect in accordance with the proposal that alterations in mitochondrial metabolism may be involved in the aging response. By repeatedly video-recording, we have found a very marked increase in the locomotor activity of the fruitflies in Space. The males showed an accelerated aging response upon recovery, both in terms of physiological vitality assays (mating and negative geotaxis) and of life-span curves. The involvement of mitochondrial metabolism is also suggested by the finding of a greater decrease in mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA in the microgravity exposed flies than in ground controls. On the other hand, a parallel 1 x g centrifuge control did not show such differences in the life-span curves when compared to flies exposed to a similar centrifugation on the ground. Drosophila females also increased their locomotor activity but did not show differential changes in the life-span curves. These results are discussed in terms of the current mechanisms of aging in multicellular eukaryotic organisms.