title: Does overexpression of Cu,Zn-SOD extend life span in Drosophila melanogaster?
abstract: The argument is presented here that, while there exists considerable correlative evidence supporting the oxidative stress hypothesis of aging, key experiments to test this hypothesis using Drosophila transgenics overexpressing Cu,Zn-SOD fall short in providing validation. In particular, significant life span extensions tend to be observed when the backgrounds of the control flies are relatively short-lived, suggesting that bolstering antioxidative defenses is only effective in compromised genetic backgrounds. Other shortcomings of the transgenic approaches adopted to date will be summarized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, USA. borr@mail.smu.edu
authors.forename: William C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.forename: Rajindar S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Sohal
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003300:Copper; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000235:genetics; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000235:genetics*; D015032:Zinc
chemical_list: D003300:Copper; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D015032:Zinc