Organization of Life: From Genes to Biomes

Life is highly organized and structured following a hierarchy that can be examined on a scale from smaller to larger. Typically, this scale ranges from molecular and cellular levels to higher organizational levels such as tissues, organs, individuals, groups, populations, communities, ecosystems and biomes.

Through this research line, we seek to better understand the mechanisms that allow organisms to function, evolve and interact with other organisms, as well as with their surrounding environment, to increase their individual biological fitness and eventually contribute to species adaptation and success. Alongside interactions among organisms, the Institute cannot overlook the key role of climate change and its impact on the biology of marine organisms, an aspect that is increasingly being addressed within this line.

The wide variety of forms of organization of life and of interactions requires the application of various disciplines. Molecular biology, genetics, metabolism biology, physiology, immunology, reproductive biology, growth biology, ethology, taxonomy and fundamental ecology are just some of the disciplines we apply to explore this research line. Similarly, our research covers a wide variety of taxa: viruses, bacteria, algae, mollusks, crustaceans, fish and cetaceans. In addition, the line applies its research to different environments: open oceans, coastal areas and pelagic waters, as well as culture conditions.