Piper Matthew D W, Partridge Linda
University College London Centre for Research on Ageing, Department of Biology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
PLoS Genet. 2007 Apr 27;3(4):e57. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.0030057.
Lifespan can be extended by reduction of dietary intake. This practice is referred to as dietary restriction (DR), and extension of lifespan by DR is evolutionarily conserved in taxonomically diverse organisms including yeast, invertebrates, and mammals. Although these two often-stated facts carry the implication that the mechanisms of DR are also evolutionarily conserved, extension of lifespan could be a case of evolutionary convergence, with different underlying mechanisms in different taxa. Furthermore, extension of lifespan by different methods of DR in the same organism may operate through different mechanisms. These topics remain unresolved because of the very fact that the mechanisms of DR are unknown. Given these uncertainties, it is essential that work on the mechanisms of DR is not clouded by imprecise descriptions of methods or by technical problems. Here we review the recent literature on DR in Drosophila to point out some methodological issues that can obscure mechanistic interpretations. We also indicate some experiments that could be performed to determine if DR in Drosophila operates through similar mechanisms to the process in rodents.
通过减少饮食摄入量可以延长寿命。这种做法被称为饮食限制（DR），并且通过饮食限制延长寿命在包括酵母、无脊椎动物和哺乳动物在内的分类学上不同的生物体中在进化上是保守的。尽管这两个经常被提及的事实意味着饮食限制的机制在进化上也是保守的，但寿命延长可能是进化趋同的一个例子，在不同的分类群中有不同的潜在机制。此外，在同一生物体中通过不同的饮食限制方法延长寿命可能通过不同的机制起作用。由于饮食限制的机制尚不清楚这一事实，这些问题仍未得到解决。鉴于这些不确定性，至关重要的是，关于饮食限制机制的研究不会因方法的不精确描述或技术问题而受到影响。在这里，我们回顾了最近关于果蝇饮食限制的文献，以指出一些可能会模糊机制解释的方法学问题。我们还指出了一些可以进行的实验，以确定果蝇中的饮食限制是否通过与啮齿动物中的过程相似的机制起作用。
