EVOREG - Evolution of regulations and control of biological cycles

Our team is interested in regulations at the level of the organism, their molecular mechanisms and their role in the control, evolution and adaptation of biological life cycles. Our goal is to understand the evolution of these regulations. We use multiple approaches dealing with different organizational and temporal levels: neuroendocrine regulations in so-called “non-conventional model species”, cellular and integrative physiology of the regulatory systems, development and phylogeny of regulatory systems.

In addition to this evolutionary point of view, we also integrate as far as possible ecological and ecophysiological data relative to the life cycle of these species (eco-evo-devo / eco-evo-endocrino approaches). Such an integrated approach allows a better understanding of past biological systems and their evolution on one hand, and hopefully comes to better predictions in terms of adaptive abilities of these biological systems on the other hand.

The “non conventional” biological models we use (molluscs: oyster, cuttlefish; non-mammalian vertebrates: migratory teleost and chondrichthyan) are chosen for their phylogenetic, ecological and/or socio-economical interest.

Our approach aims at an integrated comprehension of biological functions, in their ecological context and under the light of their historical contingency.