Epithelial Morphogenesis
Developmental Biology has had much success in uncovering the hierarchies that govern pattern. However, there has been less success in understanding how sheets of cells respond to organizing signals, and actually make that pattern. Thus, we study how signaling pathways direct the cytoskeletal biology of responding cells. To attack this, we study three, cell biological outputs of developmental signals in the fruitfly embryonic epidermis.
Output 1: Remodeling cell-cell interfaces
A common, but little understood event that drives epithelial morphogenesis, so fundamental to constructing tissues. How do specific interfaces become singled out for remodeling, while others remain untouched? Importantly, how is that information communicated across the sheet of cells to coordinate its morphogenesis?
Output 2: Shaping actin-based, apical protrusions
Such protrusions constitute brush border microvilli, sensory bristles, and hair cell stereocilia. Making these protrusions properly and organizing their pattern across an epithelium is required for proper tissue function.
Output 3: Planar Polarity
Planar Polarity is a fundamental property of all epithelia. And, while the proteins involved are conserved from fruitfly to us, it remains unclear just how these proteins define coordinates of a cell, and, importantly, how how this information is choreographed across a field of cells.
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