THURSDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- The increased longevity associated with calorie restriction can be reduced with exposure to the smell of food, according to the results of a study of fruit flies published Feb. 1 in Science. The finding suggests that olfactory neurons affect adult physiology and aging.
Scott D. Pletcher, Ph.D., of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and colleagues measured the life span of calorie-restricted fruit flies exposed to the scent of yeast, their major food source. As in other organisms, calorie-restriction significantly increased the life span of the flies.
Calorie-restricted flies that were exposed to the scent of yeast lived between 6 percent to 18 percent less time than control calorie-restricted flies. The difference was not as dramatic as normal feeding, however. In addition, food odors had no effect on the shorter life span of fully fed flies.
Food odors had no effect on calorie-restricted flies that were missing a gene called Or83b, which is important for a strong sense of smell. The results suggest that "consumption is not the only way that nutrient availability modulates longevity," the authors write.
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