洋生物多样性与进化研究所于2010年成立,经过机构改革,2020年成为校内独立二级单位。作为我校海洋生物学国家重点学科、生物学一级学科博士点的构成之一,所内各团队主要聚焦于海洋重要模式生物、重要功能类群的多样性、发育与进化等基础理论领域,并在纤毛虫生物学、模式动物发育、再生与进化、表观遗传学、海洋微型生物的环境生物学、进化与多样性等领域取得了国内外公认的成就。

研究所目前包括跨院组合的专职、兼职成员总计56人(教授34人、副教授16人、中级职称及行政管理人员6人),其中专职成员24人。目前成员中包括中国科学院院士1人、“国家杰青”与“长江学者”3人、国家“四青”级人才6人;此外,山东省“泰山学者”特聘教授、山东省“杰青”、山东省“青年泰山学者”、教育部“新世纪人才计划”等荣誉称号入选者14人。

主要研究方向与领域

原核与真核微生物多样性与进化

主要围绕原核、真核、病毒等微型生物的多样性、生物地理学、细胞学、系统发育、表观遗传学、群体遗传学、基因组进化等基础生物学问题。方向包括:(1)聚焦自由生纤毛虫原生动物的多样性与区系分类学,揭示深度分化类群生殖期间细胞器结构分化及模式的形成与演化规律,并探讨各纲-目-科级等高阶阶元间的亲缘关系及大尺度的系统发育与演化,还以四膜虫、游仆虫等为材料,开展以组蛋白翻译后修饰、DNA甲基化为主的表观遗传学研究,并阐明重要生理过程中基因的功能及调控机制;2)解析中国近海、极地、深渊等海域浮游病毒多样性、群落结构、功能及其与宿主、环境因子之间的相互作用,进行不同海洋环境的浮游病毒组学数据库的构建与分析;研究微型、微微型浮游生物多样性、群落结构组成及功能;(3)聚焦深海海沟、热液喷口、边缘海等典型海区的细菌和古菌等微生物,利用系统微生物组等手段,开展海洋微生物的多样性、生物地理学、环境适应机理和生物地球化学作用研究;(4) 利用组学与遗传学理论与方法,以细菌、酵母和原生生物为研究对象,研究基因水平的突变和生活史演化规律

● 模式动物的发育、再生与进化

以模式动物为材料,研究动物发育、再生过程中的基因表达、功能、调控网络和信号通路以及免疫系统、化学感受器等构成、作用和演化规律等。主要方向包括:(1)以文昌鱼、斑马鱼等为模式动物,从组织、细胞、分子等层次研究神经内分泌、免疫和味觉系统的起源与演化,勾画脊椎动物起源与进化图景;从基因和蛋白水平上探讨机体与器官的发育及衰老的分子机理;(2)以斑马鱼为模式生物,围绕眼睛、肾脏等重要器官,解析纤毛的发生机理及其缺陷所引起的器官发育异常的分子机制;以心脏、尾鳍等为研究对象,解构成体重要组织器官再生的生物学过程以阐明其内在的分子与细胞机制;(3)以海鞘和果蝇为模式,开展管腔器官形态发生、信号通路调控等研究,旨在阐明管腔器官发育的细胞学过程及其分子调控机制;通过对胚胎发育过程中的器官发生和基因表达的研究,揭示Hh、TGF等重要发育信号通路的转导机制和调控机理;(4)开展鱼类比较和进化免疫学研究,解析关键免疫分子结构和功能多样性的发生与进化机制。

● 重要进化节点生物的多样性与系统演化

研究海洋动植物的物种、基因多样性,结合形态和分子特征探讨其起源与进化。主要方向包括:(1)聚焦中国沿海纽形动物、头足动物、棘皮动物等无脊椎动物类群,开展形态与分子相结合的分类研究,构建物种的DNA条形码库,解析系谱间的系统发育关系,通过比较生物学、系统生物地理学和组学分析等探讨种下进化与物种形成、解析动物结构与功能关系及适应进化;(2)研究珊瑚、海绵等无脊椎动物及其共生微生物的多样性与系统发育、次级代谢产物结构与功能多样性及其化学生态作用机制;3)开展对虾和蟹等海洋动物细胞的体外培养及其基因转移技术研究,解析体外培养对虾细胞的生长停滞问题,文昌鱼和蝾螈组织器官的再生机制及进化;(4)开展海洋藻类基因变异的创制、甄别和开发利用以及顺应和适应环境变化的生理机制和遗传基础。


Institute of Evolution & Marine Biodiversity, OUC

The Institute of Evolution & Marine Biodiversity (IEMB), officially established in February 2010, is an inter-department institution mainly focused on studies of biodiversity, developmental biology and evolution of marine organisms. IEMB is one of the doctorate authorization units of National Key Discipline of Marine Biology with doctoral programs covering all fields of biology. IEMB has attracted international attention on several cutting-edge research fields, which cover evolution and biodiversity of various organisms.

Up to March 2023, IEMB has 55 faculty and staff members, including 32 full professors. Members of IEMB have won many academic titles, including Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, “Cheung Kong Scholar”, “Taishan Scholar”, and grants such as NSFC for Distinguished Young Scholars, for Outstanding Young Scholars, and 1000 Plan Program for Young Talents.


Main research fields:

● Evolution and biodiversity of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes

Centered on studies of biodiversity, biogeography, cytology, phylogeny, epigenetics, population genetics and genome evolution of virus, prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes, the main research interests include: (1) species diversity and taxonomy, developmental modes and pattern-formation during reproduction, relationships and systematic positions of taxa at class-order-family level within the phylum Ciliophora, epigenetic regulatory mechanisms, gene functions and molecular mechanisms in important physiological processes using model organisms such as Tetrahymena, Euplotes; (2) diversity, biogeography, biogeochemistry (including carbon, nitrogen and sulphur cycles) and the environmental adaptation of marine microorganisms (bacteria and archaea) in typical sea habitats such as deep-sea trench, hydrothermal vents and marginal seas; (3) biodiversity, community structure and function of virioplanktons as well as their interaction with hosts and environmental factors in China's offshore, polar and deep-sea waters, construction of the -omics databases of virioplanktons in different marine contexts; isolation, purification and genome analysis of strains of cyanophages and their hosts; discovery of novel strains and genes of viruses; picoeukaryotic biodiversity and community structure; (4) –omics and genetics studies on mutation and life history of marine microbial organisms, such as bacteria, yeasts and protists.

 Evolution, regeneration, development of model animals

Our mission emphasizes a creative, inter-discipline approach to the fundamental research into the mechanisms of evolution and development, especially organogenesis and regeneration, using model organisms such as zebrafish, Drosophila, amphioxus, marine tunicate and algae as model animals. Our current research interests include: (1) origin and evolution of neuroendocrine, immune and gustatory systems; (2) cellular processes, signal transduction and regulatory mechanisms of cilia biogenesis and related diseases, biological tube formation, aging, liver development, and cardiac regeneration; (3) growth-arrested mechanisms and immortalization of the cultured cells, and cellular and molecular mechanisms as well as evolutionary history of tissue/organ regeneration; (4) genetic basis and physiological mechanisms underlying environmental adaptation; (5) comparative and evolutionary immunology of fish with emphasis on analyzing the mechanisms driving the structural and functional diversities of key immune molecules and their evolution.

Diversity and systematics of marine organisms

Study in marine organisms’ morphology, taxonomy, biodiversity, genomics, phylogeny, and population genetics. The main research interests include: (1) morphology, taxonomy, DNA barcoding, phylogeography, speciation and evolution of selected marine invertebrates, such as nemerteans, cephalopods and echinoderms; (2) biodiversity and phylogeny of corals and poriferans, their microbial symbionts; structural and functional diversity and chemical ecology of their secondary metabolites; (3) in vitro cell culture and gene transfer of marine animals such as penaeid shrimps and crabs, mechanism of mitosis-arrest of in vitro cultured shrimp cells, molecular mechanism of tissue regeneration and regeneration-evolution of amphioxus and axolotl.