CAREER: Evolution of the Endomesoderm Gene Regulatory Network in Nematodes

University Of California-Riverside, Riverside CA

Investigators

Abstract

Morris Ford Maduro, IOB #0643325 (CAREER) Evolution of the endomesoderm gene regulatory network in nematodes A central question in biology is - how do the different germ layers (endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm) arise from a small number of embryonic cells that appear similar? In the last few years, the genetic pathways that determine the formation of precursors for endoderm and mesoderm have been revealed in the simple nematode, C. elegans. Dr. Maduro proposes experiments to identify factors that function to determine other tissues in C. elegans, and to examine how these pathways have changed over millions of years. He will employ a combination of molecular and genetic approaches to identify, and evaluate the function of, previously uncharacterized genes important in the early development of C. elegans. He will also perform similar experiments in the related nematode C. briggsae to investigate the evolution of the genetic pathway that specifies endoderm and mesoderm. These studies will differentiate between aspects of these pathways that are constrained in early development, and which are flexible, during evolution. As many of the regulators that function in endomesoderm development have counterparts in other animals, the results will be of broad significance. Dr. Maduro is a junior investigator of Hispanic descent and he will encourage Graduate and Undergraduate students from the ethnically diverse UC Riverside campus to participate in the work. He is a National Academies Fellow in the Life Sciences (2006-2007), and will teach and develop new pedagogy for undergraduate and graduate courses in developmental biology.