Biosciences Research Seminar - Genetic and epigenetic regulation of neural crest development

Neural crest cells are a multipotent population of cells that arises from the dorsal neural tube. Over the course of development, these cells undergo an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and migrate to give rise to many diverse derivatives including cartilage and bone of the developing face, the peripheral nervous system and melanocytes among others. The gene regulatory networks (GRNs) and signaling pathways that facilitate neural crest development need to be tightly regulated. Any alteration to the GRNs or signaling modules during development contribute to the etiology of congenital birth defects including cleft lip with or without cleft palate. Here, I will discuss the mechanistic role of transcription factors, epigenetic regulators and signaling receptors involved neural crest and craniofacial development using genetic models in zebrafish and mice. Loss of these factors in zebrafish causes defects in neural crest specification, migration as well as craniofacial defects. We have used cutting edge imaging and sequencing technologies to understand how neural crest development is regulated.