Genetic analysis of epidermal cell adhesion in the developing zebrafish

Cell Biology

The skin is mainly composed of two tissues, outer epidermis and the underlying dermis. The epidermis forms the outermost stratified barrier, which prevents the loss of body fluids to the surroundings and entry of pathogens into the body. Various cellular junctions are essential for the acquisition as well as maintenance of the barrier function by maintaining the epidermal integrity. We are combining forward as well as reverse genetic approaches with cellular imaging in zebrafish to understand cellular and developmental mechanisms involved in the formation of cellular junctions. We are further interested in understanding how the loss of cell-cell or cell-matrix adhesion leads to the loss of epidermal homeostasis.

Publications

1. Reischauer S, Levesque M, Nuesslein-Volhard C, Sonawane M (2009) Lgl2 executes its tumor suppressor function by regulating ErbB signaling in zebrafish epidermis. PLoS Genetics 5: e1000720
2. Sonawane M, Martin-Maischein H, Schwarz H, Nuesslein-Volhard C (2009) Lgl2 and E-cadherin act antagonistically to regulate hemidesmosome formation during epidermal development in zebrafish. Development 136: 1231
3. Sonawane M, Carpio Y, Geisler R, Schwarz H, Maischein HM, Nuesslein-Volhard C (2005) Zebrafish penner/lethal giant larvae 2 functions in hemidesmosome formation, maintenance of cellular morphology and growth regulation in the developing basal epidermis. Development 132: 3255