Université de Fribourg

Ubiquitous overexpression of the DNA repair factor dPrp19 reduces DNA damage and extends Drosophila life span

Garschall, Kathrin ; Dellago, Hanna ; Gáliková, Martina ; Schosserer, Markus ; Flatt, Thomas ; Grillari, Johannes

In: npj Aging and Mechanisms of Disease, 2017, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 5

Mechanisms that ensure and maintain the stability of genetic information are fundamentally important for organismal function and can have a large impact on disease, aging, and life span. While a multi-layered cellular apparatus exists to detect and respond to DNA damage, various insults from environmental and endogenous sources continuously affect DNA integrity. Over time this can lead to the...

Université de Fribourg

Evolution of longevity improves immunity in Drosophila

Fabian, Daniel K. ; Garschall, Kathrin ; Klepsatel, Peter ; Santos-Matos, Gonçalo ; Sucena, Élio ; Kapun, Martin ; Lemaitre, Bruno ; Schlötterer, Christian ; Arking, Robert ; Flatt, Thomas

In: Evolution Letters, 2018, vol. 2, no. 6, p. 567–579

Much has been learned about the genetics of aging from studies in model organisms, but still little is known about naturally occurring alleles that contribute to variation in longevity. For example, analysis of mutants and transgenes has identified insulin signaling as a major regulator of longevity, yet whether standing variation in this pathway underlies microevolutionary changes in...

Université de Fribourg

The interplay between immunity and aging in Drosophila

Garschall, Kathrin ; Flatt, Thomas

In: F1000Research, 2018, vol. 7, p. 160

Here, we provide a brief review of the mechanistic connections between immunity and aging—a fundamental biological relationship that remains poorly understood—by considering two intertwined questions: how does aging affect immunity, and how does immunity affect aging? On the one hand, aging contributes to the deterioration of immune function and predisposes the organism to infections...