Insights into aging from comparative metabolomics

Abstract: The largest risk factor for a myriad of human morbidities is the age of an individual; however, we are just beginning to grasp the underlying physiology that contributes to the aging phenotype. My research focuses on understanding the underlying processes that shape aging using high sensitivity metabolomics. Metabolomics, the systematic study of all metabolites in an organism, integrates both the genome and the environment, and as such has the potential to help elucidate novel metabolic pathways that are differentially regulated during aging across species. Here, I present recent research documenting the power of comparative metabolomics to provide insights into different metabolites and metabolic pathways that are associated with longevity. First, using the invertebrate model, Drosophila melanogaster, I determine the extent to which age is associated with the metabolome, as well as specific metabolic pathways that are down regulated during the aging process. I then discuss a newer non-human primate model of aging, the common marmoset, and its potential to discover longitudinal changes in the metabolome, in a much shorter time frame than similar human studies. Overall, using metabolomics, I am able to discern new hypotheses about the metabolic regulation of aging and longevity across animal species. _

Contact

  Breanne Robinson
  bmg14@psu.edu
  865-1415