Project description
Research explores how morphogens coordinate embryogenesis processes
Embryogenesis is the process where diverse cell types and body structures are formed. While researchers understand individual processes like patterning and morphogenesis, how they work together remains a mystery. Recent research on zebrafish gastrulation, a crucial developmental stage where the germ layers are specified and shaped, suggests that morphogen signalling could link these processes. However, it is still unclear how a small number of morphogens controls diverse biological functions. The ERC-funded DYNAMORPH project aims to explore how morphogen signalling influences the mechanical forces that organise morphogenesis, using zebrafish embryos and human gastruloids. The proposed research could reveal new insights that benefit areas like organoid technology and regenerative medicine.
Objective
Embryogenesis entails both the generation of cell type diversity and large-scale morphogenetic movements sculpting the forming body axes. How patterning and morphogenesis are each individually controlled is increasingly understood, yet how these fundamental processes are coordinated remains an open question in biology. My recent work in zebrafish gastrulation, a crucial developmental stage where the germ layers are specified and shaped, provided a conceptual framework for how patterning and morphogenesis can be coupled by morphogen signalling. However, how a small set of highly conserved morphogens mechanistically controls a striking diversity of biological functions across many developmental systems remains unclear, especially as little is known on how morphogen signalling encodes the mechanical forces organizing morphogenesis. We hypothesize that examining the multiscale interplay between morphogen dynamics and mechanics will provide the missing link to understand how the emergence of pattern and form are coordinated by a handful of morphogens. Using both zebrafish embryos and human 2D gastruloids, we aim to uncover:
1. How the dynamics of morphogen signalling encodes the mechanical properties organizing morphogenesis.
2. How cell and tissue mechanics, in turn, modulate morphogen signalling dynamics and robust patterning.
3. How cells decode dynamical mechanochemical inputs to instruct cell fate and patterning.
Towards these goals, we will combine our expertise in biophysics and developmental biology with recent advances in live-cell signalling reporters, optogenetics, biophysical tools and gastruloid models to quantitatively understand the design principles and molecular effectors of the cross-talk between morphogen dynamics and mechanics. This will generate novel insights relevant beyond developmental biology, with direct implications for engineering of organoid technologies, regenerative medicine and our understanding of the evolution of form and pattern.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences developmental biology
- natural sciences biological sciences biophysics
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine embryology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) ERC-2023-STG
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1030 Wien
Austria
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