39th Annual Student Research Conference
Testing Cyclophilin Dependent Lifespan Extension in Drosophila
Alicia M. Jorgensen* and Amelia L. Evans
Dr. Brett A. Berke, Faculty Mentor
Every organism has a lifespan that is shortened by disease and aging. A longer life with meaningful experiences is a goal of many. Work in mice indicates that mutations affecting Cyclophilin D (CypD), which block cell death, can slightly extend lifespan. The fruit fly Drosophila is helping address the cellular/molecular mechanisms of lifespan extension due to their genetic similarity to humans, their fully sequenced genome, genetic toolkit, and short lifespan. The Cyclophilin 1 (Cyp1) gene/protein may also be the fly version of CypD. We are therefore examining how Cyp1 mutations influence lifespan. Two Cyp1 insertion mutants do not extend lifespan, though these mutants show mild defects in a larval crawling assay. RNA interference knockdowns of Cyp1 have stronger phenotypes and may live longer as adult flies, though data collection continues. If the strong knockdown data remains consistent, our studies may establish a new, druggable, mechanism for extending lifespan.
Keywords: Drosophila, Lifespan, Lifespan extension, Cell death, Cyclophilin 1, Mitochondria
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Session: TBA
Location: TBA
Time: TBA