Mutations prolong life in flies; implications for aging in mammals

Recent studies have demonstrated a significant increase in the longevity in fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster that have mutations in the insulin-insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling pathway. Disruption of insulin-like receptor or loss of insulin receptor substrate protein leads to prolonged adult lifespan. In conjunction with the findings in yeast, worms and mice, these results provide new, important evidence that at least some of the mechanisms of genetic control of longevity might have been conserved from yeast to mammals and that insulin-IGF signaling is causally linked to aging across taxa.