Mitochondria and ageing in Drosophila.
May 1st, 2008 | by admin |Mitochondria and ageing in Drosophila.
Studies in different organisms have revealed that ageing is a complex process involving a tight regulation of gene expression. Among other features, ageing organisms generally display an increased oxidative stress and a decreased mitochondrial function. The increase in oxidative stress can be attributable to reactive oxygen species, which are mainly produced by mitochondria as a by-product of energy metabolism. Consistent with these data, mitochondria have been suggested to play a significant role in lifespan determination. The fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster is a well-suited organism to study ageing as it is relatively short-lived, mainly composed of post-mitotic cells, has sequenced nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, and multiple genetic tools are available. It has been used in genome-wide studies to unveil the molecular signature of ageing, in different feeding and dietary restriction protocols and in overexpression and down-regulation studies to examine the effect of specific compounds or genes/proteins on lifespan. Here we review the various features linking mitochondria and ageing in Drosophila melanogaster.
Morrow G, Tanguay RM.
Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Genetics, Department of Medicine, CREFSIP, Pav. C. E.-Marchand, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.