Molecular mechanisms controlling germ-cell migration in zebrafish

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In many organisms the promordial germ cells have to migrate from the position where the are specified towards the developing gonad where they generate gametes. In this process the primordial germ cells (PGGs) reach the region where the gonad forms from distant starting positions through somatic tissues that are themselves subjected to processes of patternig and cell movement. The PGCs are therefore an excellent model system for studying the mechanisms that allow cells to navigate through complex cellular environments towards specific points within the developing embryo. In previous studies we have described in detail the migration process of the PGCs in wild-type zebrafish embryos from the earliest stages of their development to the stage when they reach their target, tje somatic part of the gonad. This proposal is aimed at unterstanding the molecular machinery underlying PGC motility and migration in the direction of a source od attractant. To this end, we propose to characterize the dynamics of cytoskeleton architecture from the time of PGC specification to the time when the cells are capable of exhibiting motile behavior and directional migration. Following this analysis attempts to determine the functional significance of different cytoskeleton configurations will be made using expression of dominant negative cytoskeletal proteins forms and by expression and determination of the spatial activity of regulators of cytoskeleton assembly. These tests will provide important clues regarding the mechanisms promoting cell motility and guided migration.