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Evolutionary Biology / Microbiome-Host Interactions in Aging

Prof. Dr. Dario Riccardo Valenzano
Group Leader

We investigate how evolution shapes life-history traits across species in nature, applying an evolutionary and ecological perspective to host–microbiome interactions in the context of health, disease, and aging. 

Our work lies at the confluence of evolutionary theory, ecology, genomics, and animal physiology. Using statistical modeling, experimental biology, and fieldwork, we address open questions and develop interventions aimed at improving biomedical resilience.

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Overview

The Aging Microbiome

Aging reshapes both the immune system and the gut microbiome, and our lab studies this bidirectional relationship to uncover strategies for healthier aging. As immune diversity declines, especially in the gut, microbial communities shift and opportunistic taxa emerge. At the same time, microbiome changes influence inflammation, metabolism, and brain aging. Using the short-lived turquoise killifish, we combine longitudinal immune profiling with microbiome and metagenomic analysis to map how these systems co-evolve. Our work shows that young-derived microbiomes can restore youthful functions. By defining immune–microbiome interactions, we aim to develop microbiome-based interventions that preserve health during aging.

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Insights

Lab News

Extension of CRC 1310

The Collaborative Research Center 1310 (“Predictability in Evolution”), in which Prof. Dr. Dario R. Valenzano and Dr. H. Melike Dönertas are involved, has been successfully extended for its third phase at the end of November 2025. 

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How evolutionary trade-offs shape sperm length in tetrapods

New approach: Using the Pareto principle an international research team with Dr. Silvia Cattelan from the Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute analyzed the complex relationships between sperm length, body mass, sperm competition, and clutch size to capture evolutionary trade-offs among these traits.

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New groundbreaking Leibniz Lab for pandemic preparedness: “Pandemic Preparedness: One Health, One Future”

The Leibniz Lab “Pandemic Preparedness: One Health, One Future” connects excellent interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research. The Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena is involved by sending three renowned researchers for this purpose. The common goal: to better protect society in future pandemics.

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“A new exciting challenge”

Dario Riccardo Valenzano (46) takes over as Scientific Director at the Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute Jena

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New impetus for German-African collaboration on the use of the turquoise killifish in aging research

With the joint signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, the Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena, Germany, and the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust (GCT) in Zimbabwe, Africa, have now officially formalized their cooperation, which has already been active for several years. This declaration of intent provides the basis for studying the turquoise killifish more closely in its natural environment in the Gonarezhou National Park and for safeguarding the killifish populations there. The turquoise killifish, which is native to Southeast Africa, has gained tremendous importance in recent years as a powerful animal model in aging research.

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Evolutionary Biologist Dario R. Valenzano Gives Inaugural Lecture

On September 15, Prof. Dario R. Valenzano will introduce himself at the FLI with a lecture on "Evolutionary Ecology of Aging". Valenzano, who was jointly appointed as a professor by the FLI and Friedrich Schiller University Jena in 2021, heads the research group "Evolutionary Biology / Microbiome-Host Interactions in Aging" at the FLI.

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African killifish: Reduced antibody diversity in old age

A research team led by Dario Riccardo Valenzano investigated whether short-lived killifish undergo aging of the immune system.

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Microbiome research in Jena strengthened by new professorship

At the Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena, in a joint appointment with the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Medical Faculty), Prof. Dr. Dario R. Valenzano has taken up a professorship and the leadership of the senior research group "Evolutionary Biology / Microbiome-Host Interactions in Aging". With the new research focus "Microbiota and Aging" at the FLI, the changing composition of the microbiome of an aging organism and its influence on the development of age-associated diseases is in focus, thus expanding and additionally strengthening aging research in Jena.

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Contact

Prof. Dario Riccardo Valenzano

Group Leader

Nicole Wolf

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