Working on a non-canonical model organism
We created AEGIS as a versatile in silico tool to simulates life history trait evolution. AEGIS employs an agent-based genetic algorithm and allows testing how survivorship and aging evolve in response to varying mutation rates, population size, selection regimes, sexual or asexual reproduction, etc. AEGIS helps visualize and test the extent to which longer or shorter lifespan evolve following a set of well-defined starting conditions and helps correct our intuition about the evolutionary forces that shape lifespan and aging across species. AEGIS is free and open source, and we expect that a growing number of researchers will start using and improving it.
Our Killifish Genome Browser provides access to the genomes of Nothobranchius furzeri, Nothobranchius orthonotus, Aphyosemion australe, Callopanchax toddi and Pachypanchax playfairii.
