Medaka epigenetic clock

Alterations to the epigenome are a hallmark of biological aging and age-dependent patterning of the DNA methylome, or epigenetic aging, can be modeled to produce epigenetic age predictors. Rates of epigenetic aging vary amongst individuals of the same age, and the direction and magnitude of mismatch correlate to the onset of age-related disease and all-cause mortality. Despite the clear importance of epigenetic aging, the origins and drivers of variable epigenetic aging trajectories are not resolved. This is primarily due to a lack of tractable models that allow for empirically establishing causal relationships between an individuals environment and the mode and tempo of epigenetic age processes. This project includes reduced representation bisulfite sequencing libraries from the livers of 47 male medaka (Oryzias latipes) of ages 2-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 9-, 12- and 14-months. The purpose of this project was to describe the age-associated DNA methylome in medaka and build an epigenetic clock that could be used to test for epigenetic age acceleration in response to environmental stressors.