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Abstract
Maternal effects may play a crucial role in the evolution of aging. We conducted several experiments with different strains of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, to explore how maternal age, paternal age, and parental mating history affect offspring aging. We found that maternal age, parental mating history, and to a lesser extent, paternal age effects can have a profound influence on the survival, mortality intercept and death rate of offspring. In independent experiments we found that the effects of parental age and mating are different for different strains. These results suggest that maternal effects may play a crucial role in both the mechanisms and evolution of aging.