EFFECT OF DIETARY RESTRICTION DURING DEVELOPMENT ON THE LEVEL OF EXPRESSION OF LONGEVITY-ASSOCIATED GENES IN <i>DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER</i>
It is well known that dietary restriction (DR) may substantially affect the life span (LS) of various model organisms including Drosophila melanogaster. In our recent studies, it has been revealed that the reduction of the content of main nutrients in larval medium may lead to an increase of ﬂies’ LS. Analysis of these data suggested that the most likely candidate for such long-term adaptive changes is insects’ epigenome (i.e., persistent changes in the activity of genes that are not related to changes in the DNA structure). To examine whether the observed effects may be associated with long-term changes in the epigenetic regulation of genes associated with aging and longevity, in the present study we determined the level of expression of InR and Sir2 genes that are related to the effects of DR. In the larvae developed in DR conditions, the signiﬁcant increase in the level of transcription of both these genes compared to the controls has been detected. The adult males have shown a signiﬁcant increase in the level of expression of InR gene while no such changes were observed in females. The Sir2 gene expression level was not different from the control level in adults of both sexes. It has been suggested that larval nutritional stress may lead to the induction of adaptive epigenetic rearrangements and, therefore, it can extend the ﬂ ies’ longevity.