Molecular genetics of aging in drosophila

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Aging is a fundamental biological process that can be defined, measured, described and manipulated. However, the complex details of aging mechanisms remain unclear. Aging may be characterized by the loss of some kinds of homeostasis, but it is not associated with a pervasive decline of regulation of gene expression. Gene expression is well regulated even at older ages when biological performance is generally diminished. Many genes have significant age-specific changes in their RNA levels with increasing age. Finally most long-lived mutants implicate signaling pathways that ultimately regulate gene expression. These observations point to a link between progression of age and genetic expression and raise the question of whether gene expression changes are a cause or a consequence of aging. The characterization of changes in gene expression cannot distinguish between these two alternatives. My lab aims to address this question by manipulating age-dependent gene expression and examining the consequences on the aging process.