Ultrastructural examination of ageing and radiation-induced life-span shortening in adult Drosophila melanogaster

SummaryA Canton S strain of wild-type Drosophila melanogaster was exposed to 99 000 R of 60Co gamma-radiation at a very low dose-rate of 25 R/min. The mid-guts of the irradiated and control populations were examined at graded intervals of time to study any ultrastructural alterations that may occur both as a function of age and the radiation insult. The investigation demonstrated that radiation accelerated some of the age-related fine structural alterations, but it was also responsible for changes not present in the control population.A theory of ageing, radiation-induced life-span shortening, and death, based on an amelioration of cellular function, was proposed.