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SUMMARY:The African killifish: a vertebrate model to understand aging and 
 ‘suspended animation' - Anne Brunet\, Michele and Timothy Barakett Profe
 ssor of Genetics\, Stanford University\, USA
DTSTART:20201103T160000Z
DTEND:20201103T170000Z
UID:TALK150313@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Scientific Meetings Co-ordinator
DESCRIPTION:We have pioneered a new model organism for aging research\, th
 e naturally short-lived African killifish Nothobranchius furzeri. The Afri
 can killifish lives in ephemeral pools of water in Africa\, and has evolve
 d a short life cycle adapted to this habitat. Its embryos can also resist 
 drought until the next wet season in a state of ‘suspended life’. In l
 aboratory conditions\, the African killifish has a maximal lifespan of abo
 ut 4-6 months\, and is\, so far\, the shortest-lived vertebrate that can b
 e bred in captivity. The natural short lifespan make the African killifish
  an ideal model to probe the mechanisms of aging in vertebrates. We have s
 uccessfully transformed this natural short-lived vertebrate into a usable 
 model organism for aging research. We have completed the first de novo ass
 embly of the African killifish genome using deep sequencing and have succe
 ssfully developed CRISPR-Cas9 mediated genome-editing in this fish. The de
 velopment of modern genomic tools in the African killifish are major steps
  in pioneering this species as a new vertebrate model for aging research. 
 Our goal is to use this model to discover new principles underlying aging\
 , longevity\, and ‘suspended animation’ in vertebrates. We already ide
 ntified several loci associated with survival between different strains of
  the African killifish from different regions. Using genome-editing\, we h
 ave generated strains deficient for several genes in nutrient-sensing and 
 epigenetic pathways. We want to develop this system to examine the role of
  new vertebrate-specific genes in aging. We are excited to use this system
  to understand the principles underlying ‘suspended animation’ and whe
 ther they have the ability to preserve tissues and organs long-term. \n\nJ
 oin Zoom Meeting\nhttps://zoom.us/j/94073456078?pwd=VU9FSFBqY1dpZG9taGRHaX
 pWMlpPdz09\n\nMeeting ID: 940 7345 6078\nPasscode: 880435\n\n
LOCATION: Webinar  (via Zoom online)
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