Michael Rera

TL;DR: The age-dependent loss of intestinal integrity is associated with altered metabolic and immune signaling and, critically, is a harbinger of death in flies, suggesting that intestinal barrier dysfunction may be an important factor in the pathophysiology of aging in other species as well, including humans.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that overexpression of the Drosophila PGC-1 homolog (dPGC-1/spargel) is sufficient to increase mitochondrial activity and can slow aging both at the level of cellular changes in an individual tissue and also at the organismal level by extending life span.

TL;DR: It is shown that dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota, characterized by an expansion of the Gammaproteobacteria, is tightly linked to age-onset intestinal barrier dysfunction in Drosophila, and that a distinct shift in microbiota composition follows intestine barrier dysfunction, leading to systemic immune activation and organismal death.

TL;DR: It is shown that ubiquitous or neuron-specific up-regulation of Parkin, in adult Drosophila melanogaster, increases both mean and maximum lifespan without reducing reproductive output, physical activity, or food intake.

TL;DR: It is shown that upregulation of AM PK in the adult Drosophila nervous system induces autophagy both in the brain and also in the intestinal epithelium, and that localized activation of AMPK and/or Atg1 in key tissues can slow aging in a non-cell-autonomous manner.