RUI: The Influence of the Microenvironment on the Differentiation of Primary Mesenchyme Cells in the Sea Urchin Embryo

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The objectives of this project are: 1) To examine the role of cell-cell interactions on the differentiation of micromeres of the sea urchin embryo, 2) To examine the effects of modifications of the extracellular matrix (ECM) environment of the embryo on the differentiation of the primary mesenchyme, 3) To characterize the ECM components synthesized by micromeres and primary mesenchyme in vivo and in vitro. Differentiation of these cells will be monitored by a) morphological appearance of spicules, b) quantitation of transcription of a spicule matrix gene, c) quantitation of accumulation of a spicule matrix protein mRNA, d) quantitation of synthesis of spicule matrix protein. %%% The sea urchin serves as an excellent model system for studying the early events in embryo development. Here Dr. Benson will look at the factors involved in the differentiation of the embryonic skeleton. He is at an undergraduate institution and the students will play a major part in this research as part of their training.