HYPERGRAVITY AND AGING IN DROSOPHILA-MELANOGASTER .7. NEW LONGEVITY DATA

Longevity of mated and virgin Drosophila melanogaster flies was observ ed at various gravity levels (1-7.38 g). A slight longevity decrease w as observed in the 1-5.14 g range for virgin males, and a larger one i n the 5.14-7.38 g range. The effect of gravity was larger for females in the 1-5.14 g range, and at the highest gravity level, bot hsexes ha d roughly the same longevity, which however remained high (around 40 d ays). The longevity of mated flies was lower than that of virgins at 1 g, and only a slight longevity decrease was observed in the 1-7.38 g range in females, this decrease being larger for males. Hypergravity a ppears to have no dragmatic effects on life span and to be of lower im portance than the simple effect of mating. This study confirms previou s results obtained in the 1-5.02 g range with virgin flies (Le Bourg a nd Lints. 1989).