Aging is a complex process characterized by a steady decline in an organism�s ability to perform life-sustaining tasks. In the present\nstudy, two cages of approximately 12,000 mated Drosophila melanogaster females were used as a source of RNA from individuals\nsampled frequently as a function of age.Ali near model for microarray data method was used for the microarray analysis to adjust for\nthe box effect; it identified 1,581 candidate aging genes. Cluster analyses using a self-organizing map algorithm on the 1,581 significant\ngenes identified gene expression patterns across different ages. Genes involved in immune system function and regulation, chorion\nassembly and function, and metabolism were all significantly differentially expressed as a function of age. The temporal pattern\nof data indicated that gene expression related to aging is affected relatively early in life span. In addition, the temporal variance\nin gene expression in immune function genes was compared to a random set of genes. There was an increase in the variance of\ngene expression within each cohort, which was not observed in the set of random genes. This observation is compatible with the\nhypothesis that D. melanogaster immune function genes lose control of gene expression as flies age.
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