Papers in the Biological Sciences
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
4-6-2001
Abstract
The Drosophila melanogaster gene chico encodes an insulin receptor substrate that functions in an insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling pathway. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, insulin/IGF signaling regulates adult longevity. We found that mutation of chico extends fruit fl y median life-span by up to 48% in homozygotes and 36% in heterozygotes. Extension of life-span was not a result of impaired oogenesis in chico females, nor was it consistently correlated with increased stress resistance. The dwarf phenotype of chico homozygotes was also unnecessary for extension of life-span. The role of insulin/IGF signaling in regulating animal aging is therefore evolutionarily conserved.
Comments
Published in Science 292 (April 6, 2001), pp. 104–106; doi 10.1126/science.1057991 Copyright © 2001 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Used by permission. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/292/5514/104