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Our Developmental Biology Research Unit ("UMR7009: Biologie du Développement") houses CNRS research teams in the Station Zoologique which is part of University of Paris VI .The Station Zoologique is located within the Marine Observatory at Villefranche-sur-Mer (or "OOV" for "Observatoire Océanologique de Villefranche-sur-Mer"). The UMR 7009 is made up of a number of groups working essentially on processes involved in early development. The subjects include oocyte maturation, cell motility, cell division, developmental determinants, egg organisation, fertilization, embryonic axis formation, regulation of gene expression, tissue specification and embryonic induction.These basic mechanisms of developmental biology are studied using a variety of different organisms. In addition to studying mainly sea urchin and ascidian eggs and embryos, which are classic and well-exploited models in developmental biology, we also study the less well characterized embryos of chaetognaths, ctenophores and jellyfish. We have also introduced some non-marine species considered to be reference organisms in developmental biology: Drosophila, Xenopus and zebra-fish. We cover all levels of analysis, from molecular and cellular to the whole organism, using a combination of techniques: molecular biology, light, confocal and electron microscopy, digital imaging and embryo manipulation. Our expertise includes : Collection and culture of marine organisms and embryos. Light microscope imaging of calcium, cytoskeleton and organelles in live cells. Subcellular visualisation and localisation techniques (immunolocalisation at light and electron microscopy, fast-freeze/deep etch techniques) . Biochemistry. Molecular Biology (cloning, expression studies, in situ hybridisation, yeast two hybrid ...)

Scientific Collaborations : University of Tokyo (Japan), University of Toronto (Canada), University of Miami (USA), UC Berkeley (USA) MBL Woods Hole (USA), University College London (UK), Univ. Oxford (UK), Groningen (Netherlands), Zoological Station Naples (Italy), McGill University (Montréal), Univ. Barcelona (Spain)