Les mercredis de la Connaissance conference organised by Les Amis du Laboratoire Arago
6pm, Alain Guille Amphitheatre at the Observatoire Océanologique Banyuls, free admission.
11 February, 6pm, Stéphanie Bertrand
"What the Amphioxus can tell us about our complex head".
Stéphanie Bertrand is a Professor at Sorbonne University and co-leader of the "Evolution and development of chordates" research team within the "Integrative Biology of Marine Organisms" research unit at the Banyuls/Mer Oceanological Observatory. After completing a thesis at the ENS in Lyon on nuclear hormone receptors, Stéphanie Bertrand joined the Observatoire in 2006 to work with Hector Escriva on questions relating to the evolution of embryonic development, using as a study model the amphioxus, a small marine animal related to vertebrates, which is found in abundance in the region. Over the last 20 years, she has helped to develop tools for studying the genome and embryogenesis of this animal, and has been particularly interested in the evolution of a number of developmental processes, such as somitogenesis and neural induction.
Summary
One of the most remarkable features of vertebrates, of which we are a part, is the presence in the anterior part of a highly complex structure known as the head. This includes the brain, a highly developed region of the nervous system, as well as bones, cartilage and muscles that are organised in a highly sophisticated way. We are particularly interested in the muscles of the head and their evolutionary origin. It has been proposed that the ancestor of the chordates, a group of animals that includes vertebrates, tunicates (such as the violet) and cephalochordates (amphioxus), did not have muscles organised in the same way as those of the vertebrate head. By studying muscle formation in amphioxus, we were able to propose an evolutionary scenario to explain the appearance of this complex head musculature.
6pm, Alain Guille Amphitheatre at the Observatoire Océanologique Banyuls, free admission.
11 February, 6pm, Stéphanie Bertrand
"What the Amphioxus can tell us about our complex head".
Stéphanie Bertrand is a Professor at Sorbonne University and co-leader of the "Evolution and development of chordates" research team within the "Integrative Biology of Marine Organisms" research unit at the Banyuls/Mer Oceanological Observatory. After completing a thesis at the ENS in Lyon on nuclear hormone receptors, Stéphanie Bertrand joined the Observatoire in 2006 to work with Hector Escriva on questions relating to the evolution of embryonic development, using as a study model the amphioxus, a small marine animal related to vertebrates, which is found in abundance in the region. Over the last 20 years, she has helped to develop tools for studying the genome and embryogenesis of this animal, and has been particularly interested in the evolution of a number of developmental processes, such as somitogenesis and neural induction.
Summary
One of the most remarkable features of vertebrates, of which we are a part, is the presence in the anterior part of a highly complex structure known as the head. This includes the brain, a highly developed region of the nervous system, as well as bones, cartilage and muscles that are organised in a highly sophisticated way. We are particularly interested in the muscles of the head and their evolutionary origin. It has been proposed that the ancestor of the chordates, a group of animals that includes vertebrates, tunicates (such as the violet) and cephalochordates (amphioxus), did not have muscles organised in the same way as those of the vertebrate head. By studying muscle formation in amphioxus, we were able to propose an evolutionary scenario to explain the appearance of this complex head musculature.
Opening times
Opening times
On 11 February 2026
- 18:00
