Building and breaking epithelial organs: an optogenetic approach

During development, growth and cell orientation must be coordinated to form organised organs. The developing zebrafish brain transforms from a solid rod to a tube made of a single layer of cells that are 'polarised'. Polarised cells are orientated with an apical (inner) and basal (outer) side, with specific polarity proteins defining these sides. The establishment of this orientation coincides with growth by cell divisions, important for forming the tube shape. This project will investigate the relationship between cell division and apical polarity protein localisation and determine how this impacts tissue organisation. This will be done by inhibiting polarity protein function and moving these proteins using light, as well as inducing misplaced cell divisions and inhibiting them, then looking at the effect on cell orientation and tube formation in the zebrafish brain. This work will further knowledge of how organs become organised, important for understanding both normal and abnormal development.