Dataset Information

Behavioral Senescence and Aging-Related Changes in Motor Neurons and Brain Neuromodulator Levels Are Ameliorated by Lifespan-Extending Reproductive Dormancy in Drosophila.

ABSTRACT: The lifespan of Drosophilamelanogaster can be extended substantially by inducing reproductive dormancy (also known as diapause) by lowered temperature and short days. This increase of longevity is accompanied by lowered metabolism and increased stress tolerance. We ask here whether behavioral senescence is ameliorated during adult dormancy. To study this we kept flies for seven or more weeks in normal rearing conditions or in diapause conditions and compared to 1-week-old flies in different behavioral assays of sleep, negative geotaxis and exploratory walking. We found that the senescence of geotaxis and locomotor behavior seen under normal rearing conditions was negligible in flies kept in dormancy. The normal senescence of rhythmic activity and sleep patterns during the daytime was also reduced by adult dormancy. Investigating the morphology of specific neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), we found that changes normally seen with aging do not take place in dormant flies. To monitor age-associated changes in neuronal circuits regulating activity rhythms, sleep and walking behavior we applied antisera to tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), serotonin and several neuropeptides to examine changes in expression levels and neuron morphology. In most neuron types the levels of stored neuromodulators decreased during normal aging, but not in diapause treated flies. No signs of neurodegeneration were seen in either condition. Our data suggest that age-related changes in motor neurons could be the cause of part of the behavioral senescence and that this is ameliorated by reproductive diapause. Earlier studies established a link between age-associated decreases in neuromodulator levels and behavioral decline that could be rescued by overexpression of neuromodulator. Thus, it is likely that the retained levels of neuromodulators in dormant flies alleviate behavioral senescence.

SUBMITTER: Liao S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5408790 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Behavioral Senescence and Aging-Related Changes in Motor Neurons and Brain Neuromodulator Levels Are Ameliorated by Lifespan-Extending Reproductive Dormancy in Drosophila.

Liao Sifang S Broughton Susan S Nässel Dick R DR

Frontiers in cellular neuroscience 20170420

The lifespan of Drosophilamelanogaster can be extended substantially by inducing reproductive dormancy (also known as diapause) by lowered temperature and short days. This increase of longevity is accompanied by lowered metabolism and increased stress tolerance. We ask here whether behavioral senescence is ameliorated during adult dormancy. To study this we kept flies for seven or more weeks in normal rearing conditions or in diapause conditions and compared to 1-week-old flies in ...[more]

PMID: 28503133

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Project description:In models extensively used in studies of aging and extended lifespan, such as C. elegans and Drosophila, adult senescence is regulated by gene networks that are likely to be similar to ones that underlie lifespan extension during dormancy. These include the evolutionarily conserved insulin/IGF, TOR and germ line-signaling pathways. Dormancy, also known as dauer stage in the larval worm or adult diapause in the fly, is triggered by adverse environmental conditions, and results in drastically extended lifespan with negligible senescence. It is furthermore characterized by increased stress resistance and somatic maintenance, developmental arrest and reallocated energy resources. In the fly Drosophila melanogaster adult reproductive diapause is additionally manifested in arrested ovary development, improved immune defense and altered metabolism. However, the molecular mechanisms behind this adaptive lifespan extension are not well understood.A genome wide analysis of transcript changes in diapausing D. melanogaster revealed a differential regulation of more than 4600 genes. Gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analysis reveal that many of these genes are part of signaling pathways that regulate metabolism, stress responses, detoxification, immunity, protein synthesis and processes during aging. More specifically, gene readouts and detailed mapping of the pathways indicate downregulation of insulin-IGF (IIS), target of rapamycin (TOR) and MAP kinase signaling, whereas Toll-dependent immune signaling, Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathways are upregulated during diapause. Furthermore, we detected transcriptional regulation of a large number of genes specifically associated with aging and longevity.We find that many affected genes and signal pathways are shared between dormancy, aging and lifespan extension, including IIS, TOR, JAK/STAT and JNK. A substantial fraction of the genes affected by diapause have also been found to alter their expression in response to starvation and cold exposure in D. melanogaster, and the pathways overlap those reported in GO analysis of other invertebrates in dormancy or even hibernating mammals. Our study, thus, shows that D. melanogaster is a genetically tractable model for dormancy in other organisms and effects of dormancy on aging and lifespan.

Dataset Information

Behavioral Senescence and Aging-Related Changes in Motor Neurons and Brain Neuromodulator Levels Are Ameliorated by Lifespan-Extending Reproductive Dormancy in Drosophila.

Publications

Behavioral Senescence and Aging-Related Changes in Motor Neurons and Brain Neuromodulator Levels Are Ameliorated by Lifespan-Extending Reproductive Dormancy in <i>Drosophila</i>.

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