How single cells make decisions in the developing Drosophila embryo: local vs. global order
Hernan Garcia, Professor
Molecular and Cell Biology
Applications for Fall 2024 are closed for this project.
Ultimately, in the developing embryo, cells make decisions individually based on local context. Individual cells don’t have access to the morphogen concentrations across the entire embryo. They can only be affected by the concentration of proteins in neighboring nuclei, and their individual response to signaling is crucial for developmental decision making. However, most studies on embryo development involve modeling average behavior across a population of cells. These studies have used two approaches to probe gene regulation: one is by collapsing the time dimension, i.e. fixed tissue techniques, and the other is by collapsing one spatial dimension, i.e. averaging gene expression of cells across the anterior-posterior axis of the embryo. How single cells respond to real-time morphogen gradients, and how much the single cell behavior deviates from the average behavior is largely unexplored.
We will use the transcription of hunchback which ultimately gives rise to the Hunchback protein, to probe the dynamics of the processes of the central dogma in single cells.
Role: - Fly maintenance: feeding stocks of fruit flies
- Sample collection and preparation
- Microscopy: setting up the experiment and doing live imaging of developing embryos
- Image analysis: segmenting images using Python and Matlab
- Model building and data analysis: comparing the single nuclei to populations of nuclei, and testing out different models
- Writing: summarizing results and conclusions
Qualifications: Python and MATLAB (desirable but not essential)
Major (required): Molecular Cellular Biology, Bioengineering, Chemical Biology, Integrative Biology, Genetics and Plant Biology
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Yasemin Kiriscioglu, Ph.D. candidate
Hours: 9-11 hrs
Related website: http://garcialab.berkeley.edu/research.html
Biological & Health Sciences