The Nothobranchius Project

The progress of ageing research in vertebrates is hampered by the lifespan of the available model systems (mouse and zebrafish) which is of several years. The annual fish Nothobranchius furzeri inhabits ephemeral pools in semi-arid areas with scarce and erratic precipitations and have adapted to the routine drying of their environment by evolving desiccation-resistant eggs that can remain dormant in the dry mud for one and maybe more years by entering into diapause. Due to very short duration of the rain season, the natural lifespan of these animals is limited to a few months and their captive lifespan is likewise short, making them an attractive model system for ageing research.

Nothobranchius furzeri was already used for pharmacological studies of lifespan and also offers the possibility to investigate the genetic mechanisms controlling ageing. The FLI is currently developing genetic and genomic resources to use this model system as a tool to investigate the molecular mechanisms controlling ageing.