Patricia Alvarez Lab

Our research group focuses on understanding how developmental processes evolve and contribute to the generation of diversity in annelids, with a particular emphasis on speciation patterns of syllid worms. We combine cellular and -omics approaches to study regeneration and reproduction, two processes that are tightly interconnected, as the activation of one often limits the other in this phylum. This trade-off provides a powerful framework to investigate these developmental processes and their impact on annelid evolutionary history. In syllids, however, this restriction appears to be relaxed: in addition to epigamy, they display a remarkable diversity of other reproductive modes, and in many cases reproduction and regeneration can occur without strict mutual exclusivity. This makes them a particularly informative system to explore how developmental limitations are modified or decoupled over evolutionary time. Finally, we also investigate how reproduction in many annelids is under strong chronobiological control, being synchronized with external cues such as light and temperature, and how these signals regulate reproductive timing through hormonal control and its interaction with development.

We have established laboratory cultures of several annelid species with diverse regenerative capacities, reproductive modes, and timings, providing a powerful comparative framework for our research.

The lab is interested in how some developmental processes evolve and generate diversity in annelids, focusing on regeneration and reproduction. We investigate their interaction, the environmental and hormonal regulation, and their underlying molecular mechanisms.

1. Origin and diversification of annelid reproductive modes
2. Evolution of annelid regeneration capacities
3. Chronobiology and endocrinology of syllid reproduction
4. Patterns of diversification and biogeography in syllid worms