Transgenic methods for increasing Drosophila life span.

At least five different transgenic approaches have been applied to the study of Drosophila aging. There are two single component systems: transgenes with native (normal) promoters and transgenes with heterologous promoters; as well as three binary systems: 'GAL4/UAS', 'FLP-out' and 'tet-on'. These approaches vary in ability to meet several technical challenges, and the relative advantages and disadvantages of each are discussed. Using these techniques, over-expression of the hsp70, Cu/ZnSOD and MnSOD genes has each been demonstrated to increase Drosophila life span.