Embryonic development is a highly synchronized process, but its speed varies significantly between species. While humans take around 60 days to develop organs after fertilization, mice complete the same process in just 15 days. A longstanding hypothesis in developmental biology suggested that metabolism acts as a universal regulator of this tempo, influencing various biological processes.
However, a recent study led by Miki Ebisuya – Group Leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory – Barcelona (EMBL Barcelona) and now a professor at Physics of Life TU Dresden – challenges this idea. Her team’s research indicates that no single principle, including metabolism, governs developmental timing across species. Instead, the tempo results from the interplay of multiple factors.
By investigating the segmentation clock — a molecular process crucial for vertebrate development — the researchers examined how metabolic changes affect developmental timing. They used both human and mice iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells), inhibited different metabolic processes (like glycolysis) and looked at the effects. Their results suggest that metabolism influences specific molecular mechanisms rather than serving as a universal developmental regulator.
The study therefore supports a novel perspective: developmental tempo is shaped by a combination of selective modulators, constrained by evolutionary factors, rather than a single overarching metabolic control system.
Matsuda M., Lázaro J. & Ebisuya M. Metabolic activities are selective modulators for individual segmentation clock processes. Nature Communications 20/01/2025 DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-56120-5
