Seeweeds are not plants
Like land plants, seaweeds capture and store energy from the sun and are a vital food source in marine ecosystems. Although they share the same name, seaweeds can be very different and are grouped into either brown, red or green seaweeds. Each seaweed group evolved into complex life forms that are made up of different specialized cells, ranging in size from just a few centimeters to over 50 meters. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biology in Tübingen are exploring how these remarkable organisms evolved to be so complex.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen are studying the complex reproductive systems of brown and red algae to understand how they ensure their survival.
Brown algae as a model system
Brown algae have evolved independently of animals and land plants for over a billion years, resulting in distinct features in their cell biology, metabolism, and reproductive systems. Their complexity and evolutionary distance from other model organisms make them valuable for studying fundamental biological processes, such as the evolution of multicellularity and sexual reproduction.
What is the research at Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen about?
The focus is on understanding the intricate developmental pathways that transform a single cell into a complex multicellular organism and the evolution of sex and sex-related phenomena in brown algae. This includes:
Maternal-to-zygotic transitions (MZT): Understanding the role of parental genomes in the early development of algae.
Cell fate and body pattern formation: Investigating the genetic “blueprints” that govern early development and their downstream effects.
Evolution of sex-related phenomena: Studying the evolution of sex determination systems and their genomic impacts.
Regulation of sexual development: Mapping gene activity and chromosome structure to understand sex determination, development, and how these factors influence genome function and evolution.
Plasticity in reproduction: Exploring the genetic pathways and genomic impacts of asexual reproduction.
Reproductive isolation: Examining sex chromosomes and identifying genetic and genomic factors that prevent different species of from producing viable offspring.
What are the research methods?
Experimental biology and algal cell culture
Genetics, transcriptomics, cell biology, and biochemical approaches to identify and characterise the genetic factors driving development.
Comparative analysis across eukaryotic supergroups to explore the evolution and conservation of multicellular development mechanisms.
Phylogenetic comparative methods and databases to study the patterns of evolution between sexual, morphological, and genomic traits, linking ecological factors with reproductive transitions.
Large-scale genomic analysis to evaluate the consequences of shifts between sexual systems on genome structure and species diversification.
