Event:

TITLE

Imaging the molecular and cell dynamics that form the early mouse embryo



ABSTRACT
Our goal is to reveal how mammalian cells resolve their fate, shape and position in vivo. Understanding how these decisions are made is critical to realize how embryos form, and what problems compromise human fertility. Yet, their real time control in vivo remains unknown. Because fixed specimens cannot capture cell dynamics, we use live imaging to study cells directly in the developing mouse embryo. We recently showed how transcription factors bind to DNA within single cells of the living embryo to control cell fate. We also discovered that cells extend long filopodia to pull their neighboring cells closer, revealing a mechanism for embryo compaction. Finally, we uncovered how the reorganization of actin and microtubule networks regulate the spatial segregation of cells to form the pluripotent mass of the embryo. Together, our findings reveal some of the key dynamic mechanisms that pattern the early embryo.