CHARACTERIZATION OF THE LARVAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE AFRICAN TURQUOISE KILLIFISH NOTHOBRANCHIUS FURZERI

In the last decades, the African turquoise killifish Nothobranchius furzeri has emerged as an important model system for the study of vertebrate ageing because, despite its short median lifespan of 3 and 7 months, recapitulates typical agedependent phenotypes and pathologies. This annual fish, that inhabits seasonal freshwater ponds in the southeast of Africa and is characterized by rapid growth and early sexual maturation, is currently considered the shortest-lived vertebrate that can be bred in captivity. In addition, turquoise killifish are also used as impactful models in other research areas of life sciences, like ecotoxicology, regeneration, neurodegeneration, thus expanding its use as model organism for scientific purposes. The majority of studies have been extensively characterized the ageing phenotype and very few morphological data are available at the early stages of development. The aim of our work was a characterization of the larval development of N. furzeri.