Genetic Influences of the Microbiota on the Life Span of Drosophila melanogaster.

To better understand how associated microorganisms ("microbiota") influence organismal aging, we focused on the model organism We conducted a metagenome-wide association (MGWA) as a screen to identify bacterial genes associated with variation in the life span. The results of the MGWA predicted that bacterial cysteine and methionine metabolism genes influence fruit fly longevity. A mutant analysis, in which flies were inoculated with strains bearing mutations in various methionine cycle genes, confirmed a role for some methionine cycle genes in extending or shortening fruit fly life span.