bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/515312; this version posted January 9, 2019. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. 1 2 3 4 5 Perception of naturally dead conspecifics impairs health and longevity 6 through serotonin signaling in Drosophila 7 Tuhin S. Chakraborty+,1, Christi M. Gendron+,1, Yang Lyu1, Allyson S. Munneke2, Madeline N. 8 DeMarco1, Zachary W. Hoisington1, Scott D. Pletcher1,2,* 9 10 1 Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology and Geriatrics Center, University of Michigan, Ann 11 Arbor, 48109, U.S.A. 12 13 2 Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 48109, U.S.A. 14 15 16 17 18 + These authors contributed equally. 19 * Corresponding Author:
[email protected] 20 21 1 bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/515312; this version posted January 9, 2019. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. 1 Abstract 2 Sensory perception modulates health and aging across taxa. Understanding the nature of relevant cues 3 and the mechanisms underlying their action may lead to novel interventions that improve the length 4 and quality of life. In humans, psychological trauma is often associated with the recognition of dead 5 individuals, with chronic exposure leading to persistent mental health issues including depression and 6 post‐traumatic stress disorder. The mechanisms that link mental and physical health, and the degree to 7 which these are shared across species, remain largely unknown.