Dr. Katerina Ragkousi, Amherst College, USA
Dr. Katerina Ragkousi, Assistant Professor at Amherst College will present: "Organization of the primary epithelium in sea anemone embryos"
Main content
Cell organization into epithelia occurs early in development of most animals. This process relies on cell adhesion such that a single layer emerges as new cells appear in the developing embryo. The sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis, is an interesting system for studying the properties of the primary epithelium. As a representative cnidarian, Nematostella provides insights into the common ancestor of metazoans. Furthermore, the simple morphology of the early Nematostella embryo draws attention on how epithelial organization determines embryo organization. I will discuss our approaches of discovering the molecules, and examining the events that drive epithelialization in Nematostella embryos.
