Contribution of invertebrate models to aging and longevity studies

Abstract

This paper summarizes pros and cons of the invertebrate models involved in aging and longevity. The worm Caenorhabditis elegans and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster are the two models that have given the major contributions on this topic. Furthermore, we also discuss the possible contribution of recent theories on aging and inflammation to understand the complex phenotype of aged soma, from invertebrates to humans.