Established and emerging model organisms for marine sciences

The objective of this training is to involve students in a technical and conceptual training on both academic and applied research on marine organisms. The wildlife resources of the Roscoff Biological Station will be available for observation and experimentation by the students.

Students are expected to acquire the basic knowledge related to conventional and emerging marine models together with the tools for molecular and cellular analyses (functional approaches) but we also want them to understand how it is challenging to work with marine models. For example understanding regeneration processes on worms or sponges, molecular mechanisms controlling cell division and the role of cancer and apoptosis genes in marine invertebrates can be transferred to the biomedicine field.

Students will be actively involved in practical lab work. They will also participate to discussions and debates on selected topics from recently published scientific articles (journal club).

Topics of the course will focus on evolutionary developmental biological, ecological developmental biology, regeneration, origin of metazoan, evolution, cellular morphogenesis (control of cell shape), cell biology, complexity of life cycle and behavioural studies (sensitivity to light). Immunilocalization, confocal microscopy, nucleic acid egg injection together with collection, observation and manipulation of the marine organisms will constitute the practical part of the course. In addition, scientists will present cutting edge researches on their models.