Hypergravity and aging in Drosophila melanogaster: 7. New longevity data.

Longevity of mated and virgin Drosophila melanogaster flies was observed at various gravity levels (1-7.38 g). A slight longevity decrease was observed in the 1-5.14 g range for virgin males, and a larger one in 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, both sexes had roughly the same longevity, which however remained high (around 40 days). 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 appears to have no dramatic effects on life span and to be of lower importance than the simple effect of mating. This study confirms previous results obtained in the 1-5.02 g range with virgin flies (Le Bourg and Lints, 1989).