Developmental biology first made its appearance at Institut Pasteur when François Jacob, François Gros and their colleagues extended their pioneering work on mRNA in bacteria to gene regulation in eukaryotic systems. This led to the introduction of mouse genetics and embryology and to work on differentiating cells in culture, at the time within the Molecular Biology Department. The UMR 3738 Department of Developmental & Stem Cell Biology aims at generating mechanistic insights into the fields of developmental biology, epigenetics and stem cell biology with relevance to human health. The research teams focus their attention in three main directions:
- the regulation of gene expression and epigenetics: using a wide range of methods – molecular, genome-wide, single-gene, imaging-based, computational, etc. -, we study the core mechanisms whereby the (epi)genome responds to and transmits information through mitosis and generations at the cellular and organismal levels as well as during stress;
- morphogenesis and cell fate transitions: with different cell and animal models (including C. elegans, fly, fish, avian, murine embryos, human cells, and -oids), we investigate the rules governing development in embryos and adults;
- stem cell biology: we explore how adult stem cells are generated and how they contribute to tissue maintenance and regeneration, in healthy conditions but also in ageing organisms and in pathological perturbations such as tumors or infections.
The UMR 3738 is directed by Laure Bally-Cuif and Romain Levayer acts as deputy director.
