Gibbs A G, Markow T A
Center for Insect Science and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
Physiol Biochem Zool. 2001 Jul-Aug;74(4):520-30. doi: 10.1086/322162.
Age-related declines in physiological performance have been documented in a wide variety of organisms. However, it is unknown whether related species age in a similar manner or whether physiological differences associated with aging differ widely among species. Previous work has shown that the desiccation resistance of Drosophila melanogaster decreases rapidly with age. Other Drosophila species may have delayed reproductive maturity or may inhabit arid habitats, so that age-related changes in water balance may be a significant physiological constraint on their ecological success. We may, therefore, predict that physiological systems involved in water balance will deteriorate with age at a reduced rate in these species. We quantified several components of water budgets for 14 species of Drosophila, including both desert and mesic representatives differing in their age of maturity. Desiccation resistance decreased with age in all but one species studied, primarily because of increased rates of water loss. However, there was no significant relationship between the rate of aging, as indicated by the rate of increase in water-loss rates as flies aged, and either habitat or age of maturity.
在各种各样的生物体中，都记录到了与年龄相关的生理机能衰退。然而，尚不清楚相关物种是否以相似的方式衰老，或者与衰老相关的生理差异在物种间是否存在很大差异。先前的研究表明，黑腹果蝇的抗干燥能力会随着年龄的增长而迅速下降。其他果蝇物种可能生殖成熟较晚，或者栖息在干旱的栖息地，因此与年龄相关的水分平衡变化可能是其生态成功的一个重要生理限制因素。因此，我们可以预测，在这些物种中，参与水分平衡的生理系统随年龄衰退的速度会减缓。我们对14种果蝇的水分预算的几个组成部分进行了量化，其中包括成熟年龄不同的沙漠果蝇和中生果蝇代表。在所研究的所有物种中，除了一个物种外，抗干燥能力均随年龄下降，主要原因是失水率增加。然而，随着果蝇年龄增长，失水率增加速度所表明的衰老速度与栖息地或成熟年龄之间没有显著关系。
