Tissues need to move, fuse and fold to make and repair our bodies. This involves knowing where to go to, who to attach to and let go off, when to change shape and what to pull on or push against. For these processes, cells need to:

-        interpret signals to learn where to go to.

-        tell each other what to become.

-        establish, remodel and dissolve adhesions to their surroundings.

-        remodel their cytoskeleton and change shape.

-       exert forces to push and pull on their surroundings.

We are exploring these processes by studying different tissues in zebrafish.

Neuron assembly

The trigeminal sensory neurons assemble into a tight ganglion. They are born from neural crest and placodal cells. These two neuronal progenitor cell populations migrate to a shared assembly site, segregate and differentiate into stimulus-specific subsets and extend peripheral and central axons to form a ganglion.

Primordium migration

 The posterior lateral line primordium is a tissue of about 140 cells that migrates along the body of the embryo. During its migration, the primordium pushes itself forward between the skin and muscle, forms rosettes and buds off clusters of cells in its rear. These cell clusters differentiate into sensory organs that sense water flow.

Head vessel plumbing

 The hypobranchial arteries are the coronary arteries of zebrafish. They sprout from a cluster of endothelial cells in front of the heart, bifurcate and then connect to the first aortic arch arteries on either side of the head. From the aortic arch arteries they siphon blood and carry it to the heart to supply it with oxygen.

Tools

We often adapt and develop tools to address a particular question.

• we have developed a tool set for efficient bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) transgenesis

• We adapted a degron approach from flies to fish to deplete proteins

  These tools are available from addgene and from our lab. We also welcome people to the lab to learn these techniques.