Diet-dependent, beneficial and adverse effects of rapamycin on life span of Drosophila melanogaster

Jackson LN, Boles AM, Frye CT, Patel IA, Mockett RJ · 2026 · GeroScience · Atlas ID JAC2026

What this study shows

Rapamycin's effect on Drosophila lifespan is highly diet-dependent: on a cornmeal/torula-yeast medium it was harmful in 19 of 26 experiments across 5 strains, but on a nutrient-rich brewer's-yeast medium it was beneficial in 8 and neutral in 14, with no significant harm. Effects on median lifespan ranged from -51.3% to +5.4%, varying by sex and strain; rapamycin was also toxic to development at 10-200 µM.

Abstract

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Rapamycin supplementation has been reported to extend life spans in numerous species, including Drosophila melanogaster, but a recent study in this laboratory revealed a marked life-shortening effect in y w male flies. The experiments reported here were performed to characterize conditions under which rapamycin could extend or shorten life spans in five fly strains. On a cornmeal/torula yeast-based medium, rapamycin extended life in one experiment, had no effect in six and was harmful in 19.

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At a glance

Evidence type	A Animal model Marked A because it is an animal intervention or observation study measuring an organismal outcome (model: Drosophila melanogaster (5 fly strains)); the code names the system studied -- animal work can be rigorous and still not be human data.
Study type	4 - Animal Study
Model system	Drosophila melanogaster (5 fly strains)
Journal	GeroScience
Year	2026
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-08-22
Source	DOI 10.1007/s11357-026-02372-y · PMID 42570192

Extracted findings

Intervention	Rapamycin (dietary supplementation, varying concentration and food medium)
Target	TOR/mTOR pathway (rapamycin-FKBP12-TOR)
Model	Drosophila melanogaster (5 strains, incl. y w and Dahomey)
Effect	Diet-dependent bidirectional effect on adult lifespan (beneficial on nutrient-rich medium, harmful on cornmeal/torula medium); developmental toxicity at high doses

In the Atlas

Cite this paper

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Jackson, L. N., Boles, A. M., Frye, C. T., Patel, I. A., & Mockett, R. J. (2026). Diet-dependent, beneficial and adverse effects of rapamycin on life span of Drosophila melanogaster. GeroScience. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-026-02372-y

@article{JAC2026,
  author       = {Jackson, L. N. and Boles, A. M. and Frye, C. T. and Patel, I. A. and Mockett, R. J.},
  title        = {{Diet-dependent, beneficial and adverse effects of rapamycin on life span of Drosophila melanogaster}},
  journal      = {GeroScience},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {10.1007/s11357-026-02372-y},
  note         = {PMID: 42570192},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record JAC2026) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/JAC2026/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_JAC2026,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record JAC2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/JAC2026/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}