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lab profile
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Jonathan Henry University of Illinois Dept. of Cell & Developmental Biology
601 Goodwin Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801
USA
j-henry4@illinois.edu 217-244-5921
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PI: |
YES |
Taxa Studied: |
Invertebrate Animals, Vertebrate Animals |
Techniques Employed: |
Degenerate PCR, Quantitative PCR (qPCR), Sanger Sequencing, 454 Pyrosequencing, Bioinformatics/Sequence Analysis, In Situ Hybridization, Antibody Staining, Sectioning for Histology, Sectioning for Electron Microscopy, Confocal Microscopy, Transgenesis, RNA interference(RNAi), Morpholinos |
Research Description: |
Our lab is examining developmental events leading to the formation of diverse larval and adult body plans in different marine invertebrates, including a group of protostome phyla collectively referred to as the "Spiralia." The "Spiralia" represent a large group of closely related invertebrate phyla (members of the protostome, "Lophotrochozoa"). Despite the fact that this clade represents nearly 20% of the 30-plus metazoan phyla, relatively little is known of the cellular and molecular mechanisms controlling their development. Studies point to significant levels of conservation in the functions of a number of transcriptional regulatory networks and cell signaling pathways during development in the Metazoa. Most developmental/molecular studies have been carried out in a relatively small number of model systems, which have been selected for certain experimental advantages. Therefore, the generality of so-called "fundamental" developmental processes within the Spiralia, and the Metazoa in general, is uncertain. Our studies examine the role of key cellular and molecular mechanisms in the establishment of cell fates and axial properties in representatives of the relatively understudied clade, the Spiralia. Our work now focuses on the slipper snail, Crepidula fornicata, as a model system to carry out this research |
Lab Web Page: |
http://www.life.illinois.edu/henry/index.html |
Willing to Host Undergraduates: |
YES |
Actively Seeking Undergraduates: |
NO |
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