Evolutionary and experimental biology of aging
The Valenzano lab studies the evolutionary genetic basis of aging and life span. We also investigate the impact of the commensal gut microbiota on aging of the host. Our main model system is the naturally short-lived turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri), which we develop as a novel model organism to fill the gap between experimentally short-lived invertebrates — C. elegans and Drosophila — and longer-lived vertebrate model organisms.
Keywords
Ageing / microbiome / microbiota / genome evolution / population genetics / adaptive immunity / longevity / model organisms