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Life extension in Drosophila maintained under lengthened light/dark regime

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Abstract

In the present study, we investigated whether the length of light/dark cycle could influence the pre-adult developmental time and adult life span in Drosophila melanogaster. Flies were reared to adulthood and maintained as adults under both 24-h (light/dark 12:12 h) and 48-h (light/dark 24:24 h) cycles. The flies reared during pre-adult stages at the 48-h light/dark cycle had significantly prolonged developmental time compared to those in flies reared at normal 24-h cycle. Irrespective of the duration of pre-adult light/dark period, the males maintained as adults at prolonged 48-h cycle had a 13–16% longer mean adult life span than those maintained at normal 24-h cycle (P < 0.001 in all cases). In females reared under normal 24-h cycle such differences were lower but also significant (P = 0.03); no significant difference in life span was found in females reared under prolonged 48-h cycle. The results are interpreted to demonstrate that pre-adult developmental time and adult life span in Drosophila melanogaster are both influenced by the length of light/dark cycle.

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Abbreviations

LD:

Light/dark

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Drs B. Vladimirsky, A. Olovnikov and A. Krementsova for critically reading the manuscript, and I. Polyakova and L. Mechova for excellent technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Gerontology, Kiev, Ukraine

    Alexander M. Vaiserman, Anatoly V. Pisaruck, Albert N. Timchenko, Vladimir P. Voitenko & Natalya M. Koshel

  2. Tavrida Humanitarian Ecological Institute, Simferopol, Ukraine

    Pavel E. Grigoriev

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  1. Alexander M. Vaiserman
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  2. Anatoly V. Pisaruck
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  3. Albert N. Timchenko
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  4. Vladimir P. Voitenko
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  5. Natalya M. Koshel
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  6. Pavel E. Grigoriev
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Correspondence to Alexander M. Vaiserman.

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Vaiserman, A.M., Pisaruck, A.V., Timchenko, A.N. et al. Life extension in Drosophila maintained under lengthened light/dark regime. Biogerontology 9, 345–350 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-008-9146-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-008-9146-6

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