Extension of host lifespan by polyamines derived from gut bacteria.

Gut bacterial-derived polyamines significantly extend the lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster by modulating host gene expression.

• Why it matters: Understanding how gut bacterial metabolites influence host lifespan can reveal new avenues for health interventions, yet studies have largely focused on limited life cycle stages and specific metabolites.
• What they did: Researchers used gnotobiotic flies colonized with Escherichia coli strains lacking or possessing polyamine biosynthetic genes, feeding them a polyamine-free diet to isolate bacterial metabolite effects on lifespan.
• The result: Polyamines from gut bacteria notably prolonged fly lifespan and suppressed expression of TotM and Halo genes compared to flies colonized with bacteria unable to produce polyamines, highlighting their role in host longevity.