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Abstract: Epithelial fusion and fracture events are critical for the generation of shape and form during organogenesis in the developing embryo. Failure of epithelial fusion can result in congenital anomalies such as spina bifida, cleft palate and ocular coloboma. In this talk, I will present work on epithelial remodelling events during semicircular canal morphogenesis in the zebrafish ear, involving the outgrowth, fusion and perforation of pairs of epithelial projections to form continuous pillars of tissue. We use live fluorescence imaging of transgenic wild-type and mutant zebrafish embryos to study this process. Epithelial fusion in the ear is critically dependent on the mechanosensitive adhesion G protein-coupled receptor Adgrg6 (Gpr126). Signalling through this receptor is both required and sufficient for changes in gene expression and cell behaviour at the fusion plate, a transient epithelial bilayer. Our data illuminate both generic and inner-ear-specific requirements for epithelial fusion and fracture during morphogenesis of a sensory organ.

Biography: Tanya Whitfield completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge, and undertook postdoctoral work in Cambridge, Oxford, T眉bingen and London. She established a research group at the University of Sheffield in 1997, where she is now Professor of Developmental Biology. The Whitfield lab has broad interests in the development of vertebrate sensory organs, including the inner ear, lateral line and olfactory system. We use the zebrafish embryo as a model system, exploiting its superb advantages for live imaging, together with genetic and pharmacological perturbation of protein function. Our work aims to identify and explore the mechanisms that generate shape and form from sheets of cells in the developing vertebrate embryo, and to identify and characterise rare cell types. We also use the zebrafish as a model system to understand human disease, and as a platform for drug discovery.