Kaitlyn Conner L&S Biological Sciences
CRISPR/Cas9 Editing to Test Candidate Inhibitors in Tooth Patterning
The mechanisms that generate repeating structures remain an important question in evolutionary and developmental biology. Teeth and hair are iterated organs known as epithelial appendages that share many of the same developmental genetic pathways. Among these pathways, Wnt signaling plays a central role in initiating appendage formation.
Studies of hair development in mice show that regular follicle spacing emerges through reaction-diffusion mechanisms in which a local signaling activator induces inhibitory signals that restrict nearby organ formation. This project will test whether this regulatory mechanism dictates tooth patterning as well. Using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing I will disrupt candidate inhibitors of Wnt signaling and examine the resulting effects on tooth spacing and enamel phenotypes in the threespine stickleback. Determining whether genes, ACP4 and Draxina, function as inhibitory regulators of Wnt signaling, will help clarify how tooth patterning is controlled and whether similar mechanisms shape epithelial appendage patterning across vertebrates.
Message To Sponsor
Thank you so much for making it possible for me to do research this summer! I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue my work in developmental genetics, studying how Wnt signaling influences organ regeneration. I've become really involved in this research topic over the past few years and I’m excited to see where this project leads. Thank you again for your support, and for allowing me the chance to build my skills and learn from other students as part of a broader research community.