Amino-acid imbalance explains extension of lifespan by dietary restriction in Drosophila.

ABSTRACT: Dietary restriction extends healthy lifespan in diverse organisms and reduces fecundity. It is widely assumed to induce adaptive reallocation of nutrients from reproduction to somatic maintenance, aiding survival of food shortages in nature. If this were the case, long life under dietary restriction and high fecundity under full feeding would be mutually exclusive, through competition for the same limiting nutrients. Here we report a test of this idea in which we identified the nutrients producing the responses of lifespan and fecundity to dietary restriction in Drosophila. Adding essential amino acids to the dietary restriction condition increased fecundity and decreased lifespan, similar to the effects of full feeding, with other nutrients having little or no effect. However, methionine

SUBMITTER: Grandison RC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2798000 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature