Specific disappearance of translatable messenger RNA for elongation factor one in aging Drosophila melanogaster.

The molecular basis was sought for the previously observed drop in the synthesis of elongation factor one (EF-1) and subsequent decline in overall protein synthesis in aging Drosophila melanogaster. It has been found that translatable poly(A+)RNA for EF-1 disappears at about the same time that EF-1 synthesis decreases. This disappearance is specific for EF-1, since overall poly(A+)RNA levels and their translation to cellular proteins remain constant over the life-span of the organism. The disappearance of translatable RNA is not the result of a specific loss of the polyadenylate segment of poly(A+)RNA, since poly(A-)RNA exhibits a similar specific loss of translation ability for EF-1.