Vertebrate Brain Patterning

Our team works on the molecular mechanisms of brain patterning in vertebrate embryos, with two model organisms, zebrafish and mice. Early in vertebrate development the neural plate becomes progressively subdivided into smaller and smaller territories that prefigure the functional organisation of the adult brain. A striking example of this patterning process is the hindbrain, where a segmentation process leads to the formation of 7-8 transient bulges named rhombomeres. This segmentation process sets up the reiterated pattern of brain stem cranial nerves and is involved in patterning and migration of the neural crest, thereby influencing craniofacial morphogenesis. Despite numerous studies already performed, the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in early brain patterning are far from being totally understood. Our project seeks at better understanding these mechanisms. We analyse the function in neural plate patterning of several genes coding for homeodomain transcription factors, Iroquois genes and vhnf1/Tcf2, and of the Post1 gene, identified recently in our team, that codes for a transmembrane protein of the DCC family.