Age-specific variation in immune response in Drosophila melanogaster has a genetic basis.

ABSTRACT: Immunosenescence, the age-related decline in immune system function, is a general hallmark of aging. While much is known about the cellular and physiological changes that accompany immunosenescence, we know little about the genetic influences on this phenomenon. In this study we combined age-specific measurements of bacterial clearance ability following infection with whole-genome measurements of the transcriptional response to infection and wounding to identify genes that contribute to the natural variation in immunosenescence, using Drosophila melanogaster as a model system. Twenty inbred lines derived from nature were measured for their ability to clear an Escherichia coli infection at 1 and 4 weeks of age. We used microarrays to simultaneously determine genome-wide expression profiles

SUBMITTER: Felix TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3389989 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature