Developmental Biology

Understanding the origin, development, and evolution of organisms and their communities

Research in the Developmental Biology Unit focuses on exploring the rich diversity and complexity of living systems, taking into account their natural context.

Using a highly interdisciplinary approach, we study a wide range of organisms, including collectives of bacteria, unicellular and multicellular eukaryotes. We integrate cutting-edge experimental tools, such as quantitative live imaging, -omics technologies, and functional genetic perturbations. Combined with computational analysis, modelling, and conceptual theory this allows us to address the mechanisms and principles that underlie the complexity of living systems.

Developmental plasticity

Living systems are characterised by their ability to respond to internal and external cues with changes in form, function, and/or behaviour. A dynamic balance between plasticity and robustness underpins this responsiveness in the ecological context. To analyse response strategies across temporal and spatial levels of organisation we use and establish model organisms that enable molecular and mechanistic investigations.

How does genetic variation, in combination with environmental cues, contribute to cellular plasticity?
How do tissue geometry and biophysical properties impact collective cellular behaviours?
What role does developmental plasticity play in multi-species interaction, such as symbiosis and predation?
How do organisms construct their environment (niche construction) and respond to it?
What is the role of developmental plasticity in facilitating evolutionary innovation?

Time, timing, and transitions

For a holistic understanding of living systems, we also focus on the role of time, the temporal coordination (timing), and transitions between developmental processes. A temporal perspective on organisms is critical at multiple scales – development, the organisms’ entire life cycle, and its evolution.

How are time and timing in development controlled?
How do collective rhythms originate and function during morphogenesis?
Can the direction of developmental time be reversed during regeneration?
Are organisms poised close to critical phase transitions?
How is the timing of development linked to life-cycle transitions and evolution?

Metabolism in time and space

Living systems can only exist as open, far-from-equilibrium processes that consume energy. We need to study how metabolic activities are organised, in time and space, and functionally linked to cellular and developmental programmes for a better understanding of ‘life in context’.

How is metabolic activity regulated – in space and time – within cells, tissues, organisms, and communities?
How does metabolism link environmental cues, such as resource availability, to developmental programmes?
How does metabolism affect symbiotic relationships?
How is the metabolic state impacted by environmental stresses (i.e. temperature, pesticides, and pollutants) and linked to the phenotype?
How do organisms allocate metabolic resources in the context of life-history tradeoffs in growth, reproduction and survival?