EN
DE
Home>Research>Subarea 3: Genetics and Epigenetics of Aging
Research focus of Subarea 3.

Subarea 3: Genetics and Epigenetics of Aging

The focus of Subarea 3 is on genetic and epigenetic determinants of life- and health span as well as aging in fish, rodents and humans. This line of research builds on the expertise of the institute in comparative and functional genomics.

The research is defined by five focus areas:

  • Comparative genomics in short- and long-lived models of aging,
  • Genomic engineering in N. furzeri,
  • Epigenetics of aging,
  • Non-coding RNAs in aging, and
  • Comparative transcriptomics of aging.

Research focus of Subarea 3.

To uncover causative factors for aging, comparative genomics in short- and long-lived model systems are applied. Functional genomics is used to identify novel pathways contribute to aging of an organism and to validate the functional relevance of genetic and epigenetic changes that occur during aging. Furthermore, genetic risk factors for aging-related diseases are identified and functionally tested. The future development of the Subarea aims to integrate changes in host-microbiota interactions during aging, and how these influence clonal mutation and epigenetic alterations through metabolites and other signals.

Publications

(since 2016)

2025

  • Nerve Growth Factor Receptor (NGFR/p75NTR) of the Small-Spotted Catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula): Evolutionary Conservation and Brain Function.
    Chiavacci E, Camera R, Costa M, Fronte B, Tozzini ET, Cellerino A
    J Comp Neurol 2025, 533(4), e70049
  • Wilms' tumor 1 impairs apoptotic clearance of fibroblasts in distal fibrotic lung lesions.
    Ediga HH, Vemulapalli CP, Sontake V, Patel PK, Miyazaki H, Popov D, Jensen MB, Jegga AG, Huang SK, Englert C, Schedl A, Gupta N, McCormack FX, Madala SK
    J Clin Invest 2025 (epub ahead of print)
  • AnchoRNA: Full virus genome alignments through conserved anchor regions
    Eulenfeld** T, Triebel S, Marz** M
    bioRxiv 2025, https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01. ** co-corresponding authors
  • Analysis of different strains of the turquoise killifish identify transcriptomic signatures associated with heritable lifespan differences.
    Mazzetto M, Reichwald K, Koch P, Groth M, Cellerino A
    J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2025 (epub ahead of print)
  • diffONT: predicting methylation-specific PCR biomarkers based on nanopore sequencing data for clinical application
    Meyer** D, Barth E, Wiehle L, Marz** M
    bioRxiv 2025, https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02. ** co-corresponding authors
  • Multiple Wnt signaling pathways direct epithelial tubule interconnection in the regenerating zebrafish kidney
    N.Kamei C, G.B.Sampson W, Albertz C, Aries O, Wolf A, M.Upadhyay R, M.Hughes S, Schenk H, Bonnet F, W.Draper B, W.McCracken K, K.Marciano D, Oxburgh L, A.Drummond I
    bioRxiv 2025, https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.03.
  • Biogeochemical function of slicks in coastal surface waters of the Baltic Sea
    Peter C, Giebel HA, Clark Chai B, S.G.Serafim T, Lehners C, Wurl O, Osterholz H, Rahlff J
    bioRxiv 2025, https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.06.
  • The master male sex determinant Gdf6Y of the turquoise killifish arose through allelic neofunctionalization.
    Richter A, Mörl H, Thielemann M, Kleemann M, Geißen R, Schwarz R, Albertz C, Koch P, Petzold A, Kroll T, Groth M, Hartmann N, Herpin A, Englert C
    Nat Commun 2025, 16(1), 540
  • The RMaP challenge of predicting RNA modifications by nanopore sequencing.
    Spangenberg J, Mündnich S, Busch A, Pastore S, Wierczeiko A, Goettsch W, Dietrich V, Pryszcz LP, Cruciani S, Novoa EM, Joshi K, Perera R, Di Giorgio S, Arrubarrena P, Tellioglu I, Poon CL, Wan YK, Göke J, Hildebrandt A, Dieterich** C, Helm** M, Marz** M, Gerber** S, Alagna** N
    Commun Chem 2025, 8(1), 115 ** co-corresponding authors
  • First full-genome alignment representative for the genus Pestivirus
    Triebel S, Eulenfeld T, Ontiveros-Palacios N, Sweeney B, Tautz N, Marz M
    bioRxiv 2025, https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.