Lin YC, Zhang M, Wang SH, Chieh CW, Shen PY, Chen YL, Chang YC, Kuo TH. The deleterious effects of old social partners on Drosophila lifespan and stress resistance.
NPJ AGING 2022;
8:1. [PMID:
35927252 PMCID:
PMC9158773 DOI:
10.1038/s41514-022-00081-2]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions play important roles in the modulation of behavior, physiology, and, potentially, lifespan. Although longevity has been studied extensively in different model organisms, due to the complexity of social environments, the social modulation of aging remains poorly investigated. The present study used the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as a model to study lifespan and stress resistance under different social conditions. Our experiments first showed that social isolation increased fly lifespan, suggesting a potential deleterious effect of social companions. Furthermore, we exposed flies to different aged social partners and found that living with old animals significantly reduced lifespan and stress resistance in young animals. In contrast, living with young animals increased old animal lifespan, although the effects were less robust. Overall, our results suggest that while social interaction can influence fly health, specific social partners may have more pronounced effects than others. This study provides new evidence that different social environments have significant impacts on animal physiology and longevity.
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