Research in the Solnica-Krezel group addresses the mechanisms underlying gastrulation, a crucial period of embryogenesis during which the animal body plan is established. The lab is studying this process in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) using a combination of genetic analysis with embryological and molecular methods.

The lab aims to identify genetic components of the gastrula organizer, and to establish the pathways and mechanisms through which the organizer governs distinct patterning and morphogenetic events. Lab members are also studying the gastrulation process of convergence and extension, during which the embryonic structures narrow along the mediolateral axis while extending their rostrocaudal dimension. They have shown that convergence and extension movements are driven by a set of polarized cell behaviors and provided genetic evidence that a non-canonical Wnt signaling pathway mediates a subset of these behaviors. Current work aims to elucidate the mechanisms through which specific gastrulation cell behaviors are determined by integration of this and other pathways.

Trainees take an active part in all aspects of research and are involved in planning, execution of experiments, collection and interpretation of data, and in writing manuscripts for publication. As the Solnica-Krezel group is studying the process of gastrulation from the molecular to the embryonic level, trainees have an opportunity to learn a variety of approaches, including molecular and classical genetics, embryology, cell biology and biochemistry.

For more information about Dr. Solnica-Krezel visit her Vanderbilt Faculty Page or her Lab Website

NEWEST PUBLICATIONS

Zebrafish miR-214 modulates Hedgehog signaling to specify muscle cell fate.  2007 Nature Genetics 39: 259-263

Convergence and extension movements mediate the specification and fate maintenance of zebrafish slow muscle precursors.  2007 Developmental Biology 304: 141-155

New functions for a vertebrate Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor in ciliated epithelia.  2007 Development 134: 921-931

The Bmp Gradient of the Zebrafish Gastrula Guides Migrating Lateral Cells by Regulating Cell-Cell Adhesion.  2007 Current Biology 17: 475-487

Apelin and Its Receptor Control Heart Field Formation during Zebrafish Gastrulation.  2007 Developmental Cell 12: 391-402