Tissue-specific orchestration of nutrient dependent responses in D. melanogaster

Dietary restriction (DR) is a robust intervention to slow aging, but how individual tissues respond to DR is largely unknown. We developed a translating ribosome affinity purification method in Drosophila (Fly-TRAP) and investigated mRNA translational profiles of seven primary tissues upon DR. Here we demonstrate that DR alters the mRNA translation expression of proteins genes involved in tissue structural integrity, metabolism, and signal communication in a tissue-specific and coordinated manner. DR enhances the expression of mitochondrial genes in some tissues but decreases in others. Genes involved in mRNA translation were increased specifically in the gut and fat body. A key finding from the study was that DR upregulates several neuroendocrine factors and their corresponding receptors in specific peripheral tissues. Additionally, several a list of secreted factors was in non-neuronal tissues were increased upon changed in response to DR, some of which affected longevity. These results suggest that DR enhances tissue-tissue communication to leading to a longer lifespan and improved tissue homeostasis. 82 experimental samples were analyzed using Nimblegen oligo microarrays. Cy3 single color array were used for both AL and DR samples.