The Roscoff Biological Station in the era of cellular and molecular biology: Focus on the 50 last years of research on marine animals

In the context of the 150th anniversary of the biological station of Roscoff, we describe here how cellular and molecular biology using marine metazoans has been developed at the station during the last 50 years. The discipline was first initiated by an interest in the endocrinology of marine invertebrates and allowed the characterization of the famous Maturation-Promoting Factor (MPF) in echinoderms. During this exciting period of time the biological station focused the interest of the international cell cycle scientific community. Then, discoveries made at the station played a founding role in developing applied research and creating companies offering innovative therapeutic solutions. Later, the scientific dynamics using marine metazoans has been perpetuated by studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms, such as ionic membrane transports or mRNA translation, that govern the life of cells and embryos. More recently, acquiring metazoan genomes has allowed researchers to analyze marine metazoan embryonic development in an evolutionary context. Finally, the Biological Station contributes to transfer this essential knowledge through international courses, which prepare the young generations for future scientific challenges.