Comparative analysis of metabolic and transcriptomic features of <i>Nothobranchius furzeri</i>.

Abstract

Some species have a longer lifespan than others, but usually lifespan is correlated with typical body weight. Here, we study the lifetime evolution of the metabolic behaviour of <i>Nothobranchius furzeri</i>, a killifish with an extremely short lifespan with respect to other fishes, even when taking into account rescaling by body weight. Comparison of the gene expression patterns of <i>N. furzeri</i> with those of zebrafish <i>Danio rerio</i> and mouse (<i>Mus musculus</i>) shows that a broad set of metabolic genes and pathways are affected in <i>N. furzeri</i> during ageing in a way that is consistent with a global deregulation of chromatin. Computational analysis of the glycolysis pathway for the three species highlights a rapid increase in the metabolic activity during the lifetime of <i>N. furzeri</i> with respect to the other species. Our results highlight that the unusually short lifespan of <i>N. furzeri</i> is associated with peculiar patterns in the metabolic activities and in chromatin dynamics.