Cellular mechanisms of amphibian metamorphosis

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Thyroid hormones regulate growth, development, and metabolism. Although important in all vertebrates including humans, the best example of the diverse effects of these hormones is the normal postembryonic development of the frog where thyroid hormones trigger tadpole metamorphosis into a juvenile frog. Tadpoles undergo remarkable remodeling of the body plan in anticipation of the transition from an aquatic to a terrestrial lifestyle. The same hormone can have very different effects on tadpole tissues (for e.g. the tail disappears and the legs grow) and my research program focuses on understanding how these differences come about. We hypothesize that there are specific genes that contribute to these differences and we will identify them and examine the molecular switches that regulate how they work. Understanding this is important because it gives us fundamental information on how hormones can have very diverse effects and it gives us insight into why some tissues are more sensitive to environmental contaminants and how these contaminants could disturb hormone action.