The idea of a life-extending elixir has appeared in myths across cultures for millennia, whether as a tree, a spring, or a potion. But what if such an elixir already existed in nature, perhaps hidden in the embryo?

Maternal factors are known to influence a range of life-history traits, including development, disease susceptibility, and potentially even lifespan. However, the specific molecules that mediate these long-term effects remain largely unknown.

Killifish are ideal for exploring this idea, as some metabolites, such as vitamin D, have already been linked to both lifespan and diapause, two processes thought to be interconnected. In this project, we will collect eggs from females of different ages and on distinct diets performing metabolomic analysis, seeking shared metabolites that could represent a maternal, non-genetic “elixir of life.”

People:

Davide Lorenzo Drago

Ricardo Francisco Marques de Oliveira

Motahareh Ehsani