Integration of endocrine signaling in post-embryonic development via the study of programmed cell death

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The long-term goal of my research program is to shed light on the mechanisms regulating larval development and metamorphosis of marine invertebrate larvae. Many marine invertebrate species develop via a bi-phasic life cycle where the embryo transitions into a juvenile via a planktonic larval form. Despite the tremendous diversity of species and larval forms, little information exists on developmental mechanisms regulating this interesting process. My laboratory studies the larvae of the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. This species has a fully sequenced genome and represents a model organism for the study of gene regulatory networks in development. Still hormonal (endocrine) regulation of development has received comparatively little attention in this and other marine invertebrate species. Over the past 10 years my laboratory has developed a conceptual framework as well as developmental and physiological tools to study the endocrine regulation of post-embryonic development in this species. Specifically, we are investigating thyroid hormones (THs) and histamine (HA) in larval development and metamorphosis. Here we propose to investigate how TH and HA regulate programmed cell death and how the regulation is linked to higher level environmental input. Our three main objectives are to: 1) Analyze integrin/MAPK mediated TH signaling in skeletogenesis and programmed cell death (PCD); 2) Analyze HA receptor function in PCD during arm retraction and settlement and 3) Integrate HA/TH signaling in the temporal and spatial regulation of PCD during arm retraction and settlement. These three objectives will be addressed by employing a unique combination of functional genomics tools (next generation sequencing, functional knock-downs), physiological experimentation and live imaging, in combination with a diverse array of custom made and commercially available probes. Work from this research will provide novel insights into how endocrine mechanisms regulate post-embryonic development as well as the evolution of endocrine systems in animals.