Other Nutrition Commons^™

Feeding Drosophila A Biotin-Deficient Diet For Multiple Generations Increases Stress Resistance And Lifespan And Alters Gene Expression And Histone Biotinylation Patterns, Erin M. Smith, Jia Tse Hoi, Joel C. Eissenberg, James D. Shoemaker, Wendi S. Neckameyer, Anne M. Ilvarsonn, Lawrence G. Harshman, Vicki L. Schlegel, Janos Zempleni

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Caloric restriction increases stress resistance and lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster and other species. The roles of individual nutrients in stress resistance and longevity are largely unknown. The vitamin biotin is a potential candidate for mediating these effects, given its known roles in stress signaling and gene regulation by epigenetic mechanisms, i.e., biotinylation of histones. Here, we tested the hypothesis that prolonged culture of Drosophila on biotin-deficient medium increases stress resistance and lifespan. Flies were fed a biotin-deficient diet for multiple generations; controls were fed a biotin-normal diet. In some experiments, a third group of flies was fed a biotin-deficient diet …