Both overlapping and independent mechanisms determine how diet and insulin-ligand knockouts extend lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster

Lifespan in many organisms, including Drosophila melanogaster, can be increased by reduced insulin-IGF-like signaling (IIS) or by changes in diet. Most studies testing whether IIS is involved in diet-mediated lifespan extension employ only a few diets, but recent data shows that a broad range of nutritional environments is required. Here, we present lifespan data of long-lived Drosophila, lacking three of the eight insulin-like peptides [Drosophila insulin-like peptides 2,3,5 (dilp2-3,5)] on nine different diets that surround the optimum for lifespan. Their nutritional content was varied by manipulating sugar and yeast concentrations independently, and thus incorporated changes in both diet restriction and nutrient balance. The mutants were substantially longer-lived than controls on every diet, but the effects on the lifespan response to sugar and yeast differed. Our data illustrates how a greater coverage of diet balance (DB) and restriction can unify differing interpretations of how IIS might be involved in the response of lifespan to diet.