Regulation of pigment patterning
Pigmentation of the integument is important for both ultra violet protection and various aspects of animal behavior (e.g. mating and camouflage). One type of cell that produces pigment
is the melanocyte. Melanoblasts, or melanocyte precursors, originate during embryogenesis from the neuroepithelium as a subpopulation of neural crest cells. These cells migrate away
from the dorsal neural tube to colonize the future skin and hair (or feathers). The migratory route taken by melanoblasts is specific to this neural crest subpopulation, and is
attributed to unique, cell-autonomous properties acquired by melanoblasts that allow them to respond to guidance cues present along the ectoderm. To better understand the regulation
of pigment patterning we are working on several projects: 1) elucidating the gene regulatory networks that control melanoblast specification (e.g. transcriptional control of MITF by
FOXD3); 2) identifying key determinants in dorsolateral melanoblast pathfinding (e.g. EDRNB2 and EphB2); 3) understanding the function of downstream affecters that are responsible for
initiating the cellular changes required for migration (e.g. Rho family GTPases).
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