The effect of diet, sex and mating status on longevity in Mediterranean fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata), Diptera: Tephritidae.

Dietary Restriction (DR) extends lifespan in a range of model organisms such as yeast, flies and worms suggesting it is a ‘public’ mechanism for longevity extension. Lifespan extension has also been reported in the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata in response to various types of dietary manipulation, however, the responses can be complex. There are also reported differences in the responses of medfly and Drosophila melanogaster longevity to DR, but it is not clear to what extent these are due to differences in feeding protocols or to what extent they reflect real biological differences. In order to investigate this, we applied a DR feeding protocol similar to that used in many D. melanogaster studies and tested for effects on male and female virgin and mated medfly longevity. Our results show a clear effect of DR and a cost of reproduction for both sexes. Female flies lived significantly longer than male flies at all food levels, indicating minimal interactions between diet and sex in determining longevity.