High impact information on aco-2

• Utilizing an immunochemical probe for oxidatively modified proteins, we show that mitochondrial aconitase, an enzyme in the citric acid cycle, is a specific target during aging of the housefly [1].
• The oxidative damage detected immunochemically was paralleled by a loss of catalytic activity of aconitase, an enzyme activity that is critical in energy metabolism [1].
• This expected decrease was observed when flies were exposed to hyperoxia, which oxidizes aconitase, and when they were given fluoroacetate, an inhibitor of aconitase [1].
• We have investigated physiological changes associated with long-term diapause survival, and found that dauer larvae slowly develop senescence-like symptoms, including decrease of metabolic capacity, aconitase enzyme activity, and ATP stores, and increase of lipofuscin- and oxidised flavin-specific fluorescence [2].

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