The main actors involved in extending the invertebrate life span

Classical invertebrate models, i.e., Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, have provided the keys to understand the life span regulation. In the present paper we summarize the mechanisms involved in this process with particular emphasis on the role of the fly fat body. It is interesting to note that pathways which lead to an extension of life span are highly conserved in animals so that “longevity pathways” identified in invertebrates provide templates for the identification of genes and drugs that regulate longevity and diseases also in other animals, including mammals.