Abstract
Survival data were collected on a total of 28,000 Drosophila melanogaster adults in order to investigate mortality patterns and induced physiological responses after a mild thermal stress, A brief, nonlethal heat treatment extends adult life span at normal temperatures by an average of 2 days (64), compared to nontreated controls of the same genotypes. Life expectancy is extended as a demographic consequence of reduced age-specific mortality over a period of up to several weeks after the heat treatment. Heat treatment also increases tolerance to subsequent, more severe thermal stress. Observations on single-sex populations suggest that heat-induced longevity extension is independent of the suppression of reproductive activity.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | B48-B52 |
Journal | Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences |
Volume | 52 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1997 |