Analysis of a Gene Regulatory Network in Early Animal Development

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this project is to understand how genes control embryonic development. It focuses on gene regulatory networks (complex networks of genes that influence each other's activity) and examines how these gene networks control the morphology of the developing sea urchin embryo. The project uses a combination of experimental approaches, including genomics and embryological, molecular biological, computational, and cell biological approaches. Because many aspects of early embryological development are shared between sea urchins and mammals, this work will help us understand how our own anatomy is hard-wired in the sequence of our DNA. This project will contribute to the development of the next generation of scientists by training undergraduate and graduate students in a top-tier research environment. To facilitate communication of the findings of the project with the general public, a partnership has been formed with biologists at Stanford University who have developed an interactive, virtual lab bench that allows high school students to carry out, modify, and interpret experiments that would be too complex or difficult to perform in a conventional laboratory setting. The project will also contribute to the development of an innovative, digital dome planetarium show (titled How We Grow) that uses advanced animation methods to educate the lay public about the genetic control of embryonic development.