News

February 2018 paper from the Eggenschwiler Lab: Cell cycle-related kinase regulates mammalian eye development through positive and negative regulation of the Hedgehog pathway

on February 7, 2018

Cell cycle-related kinase (CCRK) is a conserved regulator of ciliogenesis whose loss in mice leads to a wide range of developmental defects, including exencephaly, preaxial polydactyly, skeletal abnormalities, and microphthalmia. Here, we investigate the role of CCRK in mouse eye development. Ccrk mutants show dramatic patterning defects, with an expansion of the optic stalk domain into the optic cup, as well as an expansion of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) into neural retina (NR) territory. In addition, Ccrk mutants display a shortened optic stalk. These defects are associated with bimodal changes in Hedgehog (Hh) pathway activity within the eye, including the loss of proximal, high level responses but a gain in distal, low level responses. We simultaneously removed the Hh activator GLI2 in Ccrk mutants (Ccrk-/-;Gli2-/-), which resulted in rescue of optic cup patterning and exacerbation of optic stalk length defects. Next, we disrupted the Hh pathway antagonist GLI3 in mutants lacking CCRK (Ccrk-/-;Gli3-/-), which lead to even greater expansion of the RPE markers into the NR domain and a complete loss of NR specification within the optic cup. These results indicate that CCRK functions in eye development by both positively and negatively regulating the Hh pathway, and they reveal distinct requirements for Hh signaling in patterning and morphogenesis of the eyes.

February 2018 paper from the Menke Lab: PITX1 promotes chondrogenesis and myogenesis in mouse hindlimbs through conserved regulatory targets

on January 29, 2018

The PITX1 transcription factor is expressed during hindlimb development, where it plays a critical role in directing hindlimb growth and the specification of hindlimb morphology. While it is known that PITX1 regulates hindlimb formation, in part, through activation of the Tbx4 gene, other transcriptional targets remain to be elucidated. We have used a combination of ChIP-seq and RNA-seq to investigate enhancer regions and target genes that are directly regulated by PITX1 in embryonic mouse hindlimbs.

November 2016 article on Jianfu Chen developed new mouse model that reveals extensive postnatal brain damage caused by Zika infection

on November 28, 2016

A team of scientists led by researchers at the University of Georgia has developed a new mouse model that closely mimics fetal brain abnormalities caused by the Zika virus in humans.

August 2016 article on UGA geneticist, Jianfu Chen, studying neural tube defects for clues to common birth defects

on August 23, 2016

An UGA Assistant Professor of Genetics was recently awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to study neural tube defects in mice. The goal of Jianfu Chen’s project is to understand why neural tube defects, the second most common birth defect in humans, occur.

April 2016 article on Esther van der Knaap has been named as one of the Presidential Extraordinary Research Faculty Hiring Initiative builds on UGA’s Signature Themes

on April 25, 2016

Esther van der Knaap, a professor of horticulture in the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics, is exploring the regulation of fruit shape and size in tomatoes as well as in peppers. Much of her research focuses on the molecular genetic mechanisms of cell division and cell size underlying fruit formation, and her work seeks to help boost the yield and quality of fruit and vegetable crops for the agricultural industry.

February 2016 article on Robert Beckstead has been named as one of three recipients of the university’s highest early career teaching honor, the Richard B. Russell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

on February 23, 2016

Three UGA faculty members have been named recipients of the university’s highest early career teaching honor, the Richard B. Russell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

October 2015 article on Burying beetles provide clues about genetic foundations of parenthood says Allen Moore, DRP of Genetics

on December 1, 2015

A team of researchers that includes UGA scientists has identified many of the genetic changes that take place in burying beetles as they assume the role of parent. Their findings, published recently in the journal Nature Communications, may provide clues about the fundamental genetics of parenthood in insects and other animals.

November 2015 article on Doug Menke’s Lab “Study: Blueprints for limbs encoded in snake genome”

on November 2, 2015

When UGA researchers examined the genome of several different snake species, they found something surprising. Embedded in the reptiles’ genetic code was DNA that, in most animals, controls the development and growth of limbs—a strange feature for creatures that are famous for their long, legless bodies and distinctive slither.

October 2015 article on Doug Menke’s lab “Snake Genomes Reveal Shared Plans for Making Legs, Penises”

on October 2, 2015

Penises and limbs are clearly very different (exaggerated references to third legs aside), but they develop in similar ways. They both involve long bits of tissue that grow out from a small embryonic bud, under the direction of very similar proteins, and molecules. Carlos Infante and Douglas Menke from the University of Georgia has shown that similar enhancers—sequences that switch genes on or off—are also at work in both organs.

September 2015 paper from Lawrence Shimket’s Lab: “Myxococcus CsgA, Drosophila Sniffer, and human HSD10 are cardiolipin phospholipases”

on October 1, 2015

Highlighted in the Editors’ Choice section of Science Signaling, our weekly journal from the publisher of Science magazine.

Category: News