How Fruit Flies Help Decode Immune Fitness and Aging: Dr. Jason Karpac Explores the Links Between Metabolic Flexibility, Immunity, and Longevity
By: TAMU Biology
Aging isn’t just about growing older—it’s about how our bodies adapt over time to an ever-changing world. At the Texas A&M Department of Biology, Dr. Jason Karpac is uncovering the deep evolutionary roots of the molecular networks that help animals, including humans, maintain balance in the face of stress, illness, and aging.
In the Karpac Lab, fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) serve as powerful genetic models for understanding the complex signaling systems that regulate metabolism and energy use. These systems, shaped by millions of years of evolution, allow organisms to survive fluctuations in food, fend off infection, and respond to age-related stress. These constant adaptations to nutrient availability and infectious agents has led to the co-evolution of metabolic and immune responses, such that immune fitness, and changes in fitness during aging, are fundamentally linked to metabolism. By studying these pathways across different biological levels, from molecules to entire organisms, Dr. Karpac and his team explore how communication between tissues and key biological systems helps preserve immune function and metabolism, as well as general health, as animals age.
“Insects were among the earliest animals to fly, live on land, communicate, evolve societies, develop agriculture, etc.” says Dr. Karpac, “The diversity, evolution, ecology, and physiology of insects can teach us a lot about biology and likely ourselves.”
Why It Matters:
Aging-related immune-metabolic disorders, like diabetes, obesity, and pathogen susceptibility, affect nearly every family. Dr. Karpac’s research reveals how ancient biological systems support metabolic flexibility and in turn impact immune fitness, offering insights that could lead to new ways of promoting healthy aging, preventing disease, and enhancing resilience throughout life.
