The Role of Gut Microbiota in Aging and Aging Related Neurodegenerative Disorders: Insights from Drosophila Model

Abstract

Aging is characterized by a time dependent impairment of physiological function and increased susceptibility to death. It is the major risk factor for neurodegeneration. Neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are the main causes of dementia in the old population. Gut microbiota is a community of microorganisms colonized in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The alteration of gut microbiota has been proved to be associated with aging and aging related neurodegeneration. Drosophila is a powerful tool to study microbiota-mediated physiological and pathological functions. Here, we summarize the recent advances using Drosophila as model organisms to clarify the molecular mechanisms and develop a therapeutic method targeting microbiota in aging and aging-related neurodegenerative disorders.

The Protective Effects of Carrageenan Oligosaccharides on Intestinal Oxidative Stress Damage of Female Drosophila melanogaster

“…Gut microbes play an important role in host nutritional intake by their catabolism of nutrients or biosynthesis of metabolites [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Additionally, gut microbiota was proved to be important in aging and the relevant neurodegenerative disorders in Drosophila melanogaster [ 19 ]. For marine oligosaccharides, Drosophila melanogaster was used as a model to explore the anti-aging effect of agar oligosaccharide [ 20 ].…”

Effect of dietary inclusion of Fireweed (Crassocephalum crepidioides) on behavioural patterns, memory indices, and activities of cholinergic and monoaminergic enzymes in a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) model of Alzheimer's disease

“…Recently, gut microbiota has been reported to offer beneficial effect in the management of AD, as it is found to prolong lifespan in flies (Staats et al, 2018). Leafy vegetables rich in polyphenols and dietary fibers have been reported to impact gut microbiota, thereby enhancing behavioural ability and also prolonging lifespan in flies (Kong et al, 2021;Olasehinde et al, 2020;Staats et al, 2018). Since fireweed is rich both in polyphenols and dietary fibers (Arawande et al, 2013), hence it could have promising effect on gut microbiota critical in the management of AD…”

Drosophila Model for Studying Gut Microbiota in Behaviors and Neurodegenerative Diseases

“…Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurological disorder that affects people mainly in later years of life. In general, PD is rarely observed in those under 40 years of age, and it is estimated that about 1% of people over 60 years of age and 0.3% of the entire population develop this disease [112][113][114]. The accumulation of α-synuclein-containing Lewy bodies and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra are the major pathological changes observed in PD patients.…”

“…PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1), a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial serine/threonineprotein kinase, has been associated with PD. In animal models with PINK1 gene mutations, PD-associated changes and symptoms are observed, such as fragmented mitochondrial cristae, enhanced oxidative stress sensitivity, locomotor defects, and dopaminergic neuronal loss [113,120]. Therefore, PINK1 with loss-of-function mutations is used to develop PD model flies.…”