Heredity, Development and Disease Themes

The regulatory programmes directing development from a single cell at fertilization through to complex adult animals with their elaborate behaviours are key subjects of research in our group. The processes of evolution and development, along with the genetic and cellular mechanisms, are investigated with the model organisms Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster and Tribolium castaneum (IAH, REI, AP, AB), as well as honeybees and aphids (ED). For example, the oscillating clock-like expression of segmentation genes in flour beetles is strikingly similar to regulatory gene expression during the development of the repeating structures down the human body (AP). 

We also investigate animal behaviour and the underlying neurological processes involved (REI, IAH, LC, AB, GMc). The consequences of genetics and gene regulation on the expression of phenotypes that control behaviour are a key element of our investigations.

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