Development in Red Algae
Michael Borg
How complex multicellular organisms develop from a single cell into a fully-fledged living being is a fundamental and fascinating question in biology. For many years we exploited pollen as a developmental model system to address this key question, helping uncover the molecular basis for sperm development in flowering plants and the nature of epigenetic reprogramming that drives plant life cycle transitions. We are now applying our expertise in red algae, where the relevance and function of molecular processes underlying development and reproduction is poorly understood.