Researcher: Gorfinkiel Haim, Nicole

 

We are interested in understanding how biological form is generated during embryonic development, a topic closely linked to how the genotype gives rise to the phenotype. Over the past decades, it has become evident that biological form (the phenotype) emerges from the integration of genetic, molecular, cellular, and physical processes. Genes provide the tools to build an organism, giving rise to spatial and temporal patterns of gene expression that regulate cellular behaviors such as migration, division, differentiation, and changes in cell shape. The coordination of these behaviors in collectives of thousands of cells generates the characteristic movements and deformations of tissues, leading to the formation of structures such as tubes, folds, ridges, and the complex three-dimensional shapes of organs. These processes are fundamentally physical in nature, and the mechanical forces generated by tissues can, in turn, influence molecular processes within individual cells. This dynamic interaction between genetic, biochemical, and mechanical signals establishes feedback loops that underpin the self-organizing properties of cell collectives.

 

To investigate these processes, we use the fruit fly embryo, Drosophila melanogaster, as a model system. Our research focuses on understanding how epithelial tissues remodel during development to form structures such as tubes and sheets or to close wounds. We adopt a multidisciplinary approach that combines genetic and cellular techniques, live microscopy, and quantitative image analysis. Drosophila offers significant advantages as a model system due to its extensive array of genetic and cellular tools, as well as the accessibility of the embryo for live imaging. Basic research in Drosophila has consistently been a fundamental source of knowledge for biomedical sciences, and it is particularly relevant in this area to guide potential regenerative therapies and the construction of artificial organs.

 

 

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Time-lapse movie of a Drosophila embryo during the process of dorsal closure, a process in which the embryo becomes fully covered by the epidermis and the extra-embryonic tissue known as the amnioserosa is eliminated. The cells are labeled with a membrane reporter (E-Cadherin fused to green fluorescent protein). The images were taken every 2 minutes and are maximum intensity projections of multiple z planes.

Time-lapse movie of the amnioserosa of a Drosophila embryo in which the cells are labelled with a red membrane reporter (E-Cadherin-RFP) and a green Myosin reporter (Myo-GFP). Here the images were taken every 30 seconds to visualize the dynamic cytoskeletal activity characteristic of these cells.