The main aim of the group is study the role of hormones and their metabolites on physiology and the evolution of the endocrine system, using fish as the principal model together with other key invertebrate and vertebrate models.

Main themes:

Hormonal control of Reproduction and Development

a) To establish the identity, function and mechanisms of action of key regulatory factors in relation to sex differentiation, puberty and gonad maturation.

b) To understand the process of metamorphosis and skeletal development in fishes, and the role of thyroid and metabolic hormones.

Calcitropic hormones, mineral metabolism and environmental adaptation

c) To understand the evolution of mineral homeostasis and the role of endocrine regulating factors, their site of action and the molecular mechanisms responsible for their biological actions.

d) To understand the process of ossification and regeneration in fishes and the role of the extracellular matrix, minerals and endocrine factors.

Hormones, pheromones and behavior

e) To understand the underlying mechanisms regulating the interaction between hormones and behaviour in fishes.

f) To understand how fish detect biologically important environmental chemical cues - pheromones, food-related odorants and inorganic cations (Ca2+ and Na+) and how this olfactory input is centrally processed to evoke the appropriate physiological and behavioural responses.

From genotype on phenotype

g) To apply an integrative and systems approach, from the genome to individuals and populations, to the study of the evolution of endocrine hormones/systems and their impact on phenotype.