Hypergravity and Aging in Drosophila melanogaster

The proboscis extension response threshold to sucrose has been measured in young, middle-aged and old male Drosophila melanogaster flies living at a gravity level of 1, 3.02 or 5.02 g until the experiment. The threshold increased with age and no effect of gravity level was observed at any age. These data are at variance with those of previously studied behavioral traits which showed that flies living in hypergravity seemed to age faster than 1-g ones.